Two of my clients have decided to test the proprietary trading job markets, and have managed to generate some positive results. I was a bit suprised because the business (at least here in Chicago) is undergoing a great deal of turmoil and dislocation. Both of these clients were once prop traders who ran into difficulties, traded their own accounts with very mixed results, and eventually hired me - one client in July '09 and the other in Sept '09. The first client developed a knack for currency futures spreads and was hired by a European Bank, and the other has an affinity for energy futures spreads and appears to be entertaining an offer (s) here in Chicago. It appears that the P&L per se wasn't an issue in terms of gross amount - both employers were looking for consistency (Sharpe Ratio). The employers felt like they could find the volume scalability.