Really? I can tell you I left a stressful, but rewarding job only to discover that trading was more stressful and much much less rewarding. taowave guessed right about daytrading and spending all hours in front of a screen. I also tried position trading. Less stressful, same result. Relationships certainly suffered, and I don't think anyone can argue with the fact that stress is unhealthy. Bert is lucky. He's only lost 2 years and an insignificant amount of money. He's at an important juncture now and he's smart enough to do a big reassessment of things right now. The question is should he commit now or walk away and put it down to experience. Imagine if he were to spend another 5 years, with the odds heavily against him, and lost a significant amount of money. How much better off would he be then. The illusion of financial freedom trading is exactly that, an illusion, and when you do experience success, it's a hollow victory.
I have heard such comments in the past and largely ignored them. I realized that was easily the possible outcome for many, but believed in my ability to be one of the successful ones. At this point, though, it's important to consider more deeply what you're saying (as well as what others have).
Security and success provided by employment are also illusions. Three months after my boss was toasting my success with champaign and giving me a big raise, I was fired. I don't know whether this trading thing is going to work out for me, but I can tell you when I had my last job, my stomach hurt all the time from the stress caused by all of the political games. I had to travel and be away from my wife and I worked for a manic depressive lunatic who changed the rules on a daily basis. After you've been out on your own for a while, you tend to remember the good things about having a job and forget the bad things and long for the "good old days" of employment. I do miss the paycheck every week, but I find trading far less stressful than employment (although it is stressful) . As much as I believe that the financial markets are built on the foolishness of suckers (and maybe I'm one of them), working your ass off to make some rich guy richer is not necessarily a great alternative. It all depends on the relative attractiveness of opportunities available. As for myself, if I start to lose more than I already made, I'll bail and do something else. But it probably won't be working for somebody else. I just can't do that anymore--business is too brutal, people are too crazy and I'm tired of depending on the benevolence of some jerk for my financial future.
bluedemon, your side is well stated too. I've "been there, done that," and I don't like that option either.
Amen demon! Casting off the shackles of corporate slavery is indeed liberating and conducive to a more healthy life in general. You only have one go around in this game called life, no reason to spend it toiling in the service of people that don't care about your well being nor your success/failure.
I think I'm moving in the same direction. Actually, almost everyone I know is. That sounds pretty sad Good post
and let me add that its all realative...job or independent, there are always risks. I have been fortunate and only had one or two "jobs" in my whole life. While I always worked for my self I have more than once worked my ass off and got beat out of the money. Moreover, I didnt even see it coming. I always related my trading vs working to the cattle business. I could buy 40,000 pounds of cattle on the exch. This was like buying 25 head of cattle and all I wanted was the price of cattle to go up...just like the farmer or rancher. If the price went up I made money- if it didnt I lost money...just like the farmer. But I didnt have to have a ranch, barns etc.. I didnt have to look at them or smell them but if the price of cattle went up, just like the farmer, I made money. It was simle as that. I didnt need the capitalization and I could even get short...and let cattle lose money and still make money. The farmer couldnt do that. Most importantly, as I related it to any number of things I could do in life, at least with trading, I didnt have to work my ass off (physically), thinking I was in some kind of control and then lose money on top of it. You just have to commit, despite all around you thinking you are crazy, and stay in the game. Diligence will overcome even ignorance at some point if you have enough time and can borrow enough money to fund your account one more time. It hasnt been an easy road but I trade for a living...thats what I do.
I've had a few more jobs than you have and they always started with "irrational exuberance," thinking "this is it--I've found a home," shortly followed by disillusionment and ending in discontent, unhappiness and depression. Now when I think about getting another job, it's like going to see a movie I've already seen before--I know the ending, so why bother? I've also thought about buying or starting another business, but my experience with that hasn't been great either. In some ways that's worse than a job. You invest lots of time and money and if it doesn't work as you planned, you now own the job you hate until you find some sucker to buy you out or else you walk away from everything you invested. At least if I buy stock and it doesn't work out, I can sell it and I still have most of my nestegg intact. I'm working harder than I ever have in my life--typically a 12 hour day six days a week. I'm working on my system, studying charts, etc. And in my off time I'm reading books on technical analysis, etc. I suspect, like Bert, I'm going to become disillusioned at some point, meaning the reality of the situation will have sunk in. But considering the alternatives and the potential upside of trading, this is definitely worth a shot.