Please let me re-state this.....my only suggestion was that for those with degrees (and few opportunities for jobs), could choose to trade instead of spending another $100K on grad school, and still have the same opportunities. I am definitely "pro" education.....but after a while, even the most "professional of students" should check out the real world. You got my drift...... Don
Don, while I have respected your business acumen in the past, these series of posts make me wonder... ...that is because most fresh college grads, do not have $100K handy to use for day-trading, in lieu of grad school. Most people finance grad/med school through large loans taken out, and hope after the time spent there can find a decent occupation to pay back the money. I am sure the Feds do not look to kindly on those who "launder" their tuition loans to go day-trading. Natch...
I have to agree with you 110% While daytrading may be glamorious and a legit "internship" in the eyes of naive grads, its nothing but. You can easily become blacklisted for real jobs b/c many of them consider daytraders on the same level as gamblers.
Don, A kid straight out of undergrad won't have any meaningful capital to enter into your program, and would most likely rely on his parents for funding. Under that premise, the greater challenge for you is in convincing the parents, most of whom would be ten times as skeptical of your ulterior motives, to finance it. What's your pitch to the parents? I just don't see the "don't waste your money on even more education" argument carrying much water, especially if you're expecting them to instead fund your "school", which has a 90% drop-out rate. What you should do is charge an actual tuition (maybe $7.5k or so; hell, provide them with student loans to boot) for people to get a certification at your school. Let them spend six months in "intensive" training and paper trading. Give them a diploma so their parents can feel like their kid is actually getting a formal education (pitch it as a vocational school). Then, for those who have a solid paper trading track record, you can then offer them the opportunity to be a real "junior" trader in your group. With the formal certification and A's on his paper-trading report card, the student's parents would feel all the more comfortable (maybe even eager) giving their kid even more money to do real trades. Everyone wins (sort of) with the above approach. BT gets paid for the 6-month training period, and you can still identify people with the potential to become successful traders. Parents feel more comfortable giving their kid money first for tuition and then for trading capital. Kids actually feel like they're getting a formal education and potentially the opportunity to become a successful trader. Even those who don't get invited to do real trades can feel like they left with a diploma and can at least put another notch on the "Educational" section of their resume. Who knows, maybe it'll help them get a job as a broker. But, if you really are the churn and burn type, just ignore my post.
That's because the people who inhabit the "real jobs" have never taken a calculated risk in their lives. Whether it's daytrading or whatever, you have developed some serious skills that are easily transferable to the real world. (Assuming you are not a total idiot), like: 1. The abilty to weigh risk, and make decisions quickly 2. The ability to see multiple outcomes 3. Self starting; entreprenuerial 4. Thinking on your feet 5. Trading makes you an excellent troubleshooter 6. Etc, etc These are just a few "skills" that can be learned from trading (day or otherwise) Spent 12 years at a "real job"; trust me it's over-rated anyway. Most people are miserable doing them, and it crushes your soul listening to the complaining, and lack of initiative that's found in the majority of people who inhabit "real jobs". I prefer to be blacklisted. Best, david
I really, really, want to be sure that everyone understands what we're doing here. We're not saying to quit school, or to get student loans, or anything like that. There are young, qualified, recent graduates that want an opportunity to get into trading. We are "screening" for those that may have some "family" money (even as low as $5K), and even a few with zero capital up front to come to us without the "negative baggage" that accompanies so many of us "older folks." From the response we've gotten from the website, I think that many fit into this category. Of course, if you can put some money up (as in any business), then you can progress more quickly. Rather than "work your way" through additional years of academia, put your skills to work in the real world. Nothing more, nothing less. Heck, I sure wouldn't want to work for a decade or more to pay back a student loan which may or may not help me in the job market. Recap: 1. I encourage education. 2. I discourage going into debt with student loans. 3. I encourage entrpreneurship. 4. I feel the job market is very tight. 5. We offer opportunities for those who like a career in stock trading. (Whew, didn't expect so much in response.....just tried to point to the website for a new venture). Don
If their goal is only making money, not wanting to be a professional like an attorney, doctor, accountant, etc. they can do lots of things besides trading. Noting wrong with looking at trading as a career, but you have to make an argument showing longevity as a result of Bright trading to put a trading career up there with other professions. Discouraging people to go into debt with student loans is akin to saying that someone should not get a loan to start a business. Nonsense. If someone wants to be a doctor, lawyer, etc., you have to pay for that education. Believe it or not, there are actually people who are not so self centered as traders that actually want to be in a service profession helping people with their lives, not a profession of sitting chained to a one armed bandit (computer and mouse). People need to find out what it is that they want to do, not necessarily where they can make the most money. Do what you love first, the rest is gravy. More unhappiness comes from selling out your soul to a profession for money, than it does from working for less money at a job you love.
Agreed... being blacklisted from the corporate world is a blessing in disguise, cos it stops us from leaving what we really love doing: trading...