Yeah, but trading is even better ... spent a lot of my time out in Mountain View, CA when I worked on the AI stuff
Agree, trading is honest, no bullshit will ever fly. But I still toy with AI stuff, check my site if you'd like to see some of my current developments. Skip the promo crap and go straight to RTN philosophy pages. You'll have a kick. www.marketguidance.com Cheers,
I'll just tell you what I did/am doing. Take it for what it's worth. I don't believe in getting a degree "to have something to fall back on". I believe if you have something the fall back on, then you'll wind up falling back ON it, because it's become a crutch. If you belive in yourself as a trader, and you believe you can and will eventually be able to trade, then I say go for it. I quit school after 3 years because I was at my wits end. Oh, it wasn't difficult, I just hated it. The policies, the politics of the professors, the boredom. But here's the bottom line: At college, they had nothing to teach me that I wanted to learn for a career. Nothing at all. Naturally it will be difficult for you to get a "good" job without a degree. Not everyone can do as I have done because of their specific situation. I have no kids, if you have kids, then you need a high paying job to support them. Just figure out what your passion is, and follow it. Figure out the quickest way for you to achieve it. Figure out if you REALLY want to be a trader. Eh, my point is that no, you don't need college. Some of us will in fact make it without a degree. (and sooner than if we had gone and spent all that extra money on tuition, i might add). I'd rather spend my tuition money on my trading education than on some stupid recreation facility at "we don't know how to lower tuition costs University". I swear they're worse than the full blown gov't in money management. ok well i'm rambling, have a good day.
I'm 52, dropped out of school at 14 (you could get away with it back them - I found the school work easy enough, just boring) and in the years between school and now I have reached a few conclusions regarding degrees: 1. A degree will limit your natural ability for lateral thought - most degreed guys that I have worked with seem to over-analyze everything without seeing the bigger picture; 2. A degree entitles you to work for someone else; 3. Most of the seriously wealthy guys in this world have minimal formal education. I am self-employed as a trader, prior to which I was self-employed as a specialist in the oil & gas industry (where I was always paid more than the degreed guys ). If you were my kid I would steer you away from the halls of learning and into life. OTOH if you need the ego-boost of a degree and are not very interested in independence then fine, go to college.
2 degreees ......economics and the other finance. I was trading in class years ago when you could barely hook up a cell phone to a computer. The PHd's were always pulling me into their office & asking for advice from me--HA,! If your determined, then there is little that you can't teach yourself with some discipline. Here's some more fun. Take what 4 years of college costs & compound it at 8-10%/year for 40 years (avg. useful life of a worker at that age). HMMMMMM........Looks like college isn't such a good deal in "the pursuit of a better salary'! WHO SAYS EDUCATION MUST COME FROM SCHOOL??!!
I got my degree in Economics. Did it benefit my trading ? Not really, Hell I spent most of my time daytrading in my lab classes. Hard to control you emotion when you just bagged a $500 profit while the teacher is talking about something that you will never use in the real world. But all in all, college is not about getting a degree, it's about discipline and risk management, which also applies to trading well. It's about developing an open mind so that you can see things in different perspectives. Many people fail at trading because they have tunnel vision and refuse to look at any other viewpoint because of their ego. Wny did I choose Economics ? Because I enjoyed studying the patterns and correlation in the charts of basic economic principles. And because these same correlations and principles can be applied to stock charts as well as everday life scenarios. But in all seriousness. You need to have a back up plan to trading. The truth remains that 95 % of all traders fail. Not everyone was meant to trade. But you never know untill you try.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Most college teaches you to work for someone else; except for the few brilliant exceptions like prof/top trader Jim Rogers. Course we want our Doctors well educated; however I have noticed a persistant edge amoung those who drop out @ all levels of school they chose & HAVE to excel ! The plans of the diligent tend only to advantage. Solomon,trader king