So in 2005, Iâm 25 years old and Iâm working in an office sweat shop 14 hours a day. One night Iâm driving home from work at midnight and a guy who fell asleep at the wheel runs into me and totals my car. Iâm not hurt but itâs a wakeup call for me. My dream was always to be a trader. I was in a position where I had to buy a new car within a few days and I figure instead of dropping 25k on a new car to drive to a job I hate Iâll just quit and pursue the dream. In the past 18 months Iâve read all the books, traded all the various products, and tried all the various strategies. Iâve tried Bollinger bands, moving averages, measured moves, trend lines, breakouts, classical TA, even Jack Hershey channels. So I know all the strengths and weaknesses of all the various strategies out there. Thus far, commissions and fees have evaporated nearly all my risk capital. I finally have settled on a non-indicator based approach that works well so long as Iâm managing risk comprehensively and with discipline. Iâm looking for a firm that would be willing to take on an experienced guy who has been thru it all trading wise and seems close to consistent profitability if giving the chance. Iâm looking to prop trade from an office in either New York or Jersey City. I am not licensed. I can put up 1-2k capital so long as there is no desk fee and reasonable data fees â Iâd pay above average commissions in return (like .005/share). I wonât fail because quite frankly failure is not an option for me at this point. Please pm me â thanks.
I was in a similar position. Instead of trading remote alone and prolonging the learning curve, I moved and joined Swift Trading. I worked on the weekend as a security guard ( I specifically took the job because it gave me the opportunity to be alone all weekend, the time was used to review all my trades the prior week and reading trading related literature) and traded during the week. I learned more in 6 months than I would have in 6 years doing it any other way. I've since left Swift because of their low payout and now trade my own account. Now I'm working on finishing the CFA program and working on completing applications to the top 5 MBA finance programs.
Exactly going at it alone to start off is the very long hard road. Its better to learn from other traders to start off.
Yoda- The market isnt an indicator game or an experiece game.. it is a competence game, a mental game, and most importantly a profitability game. We have all hit our relative bottoms at any given time. I lost my job as a trader in 2001 (at the age of 25)..like so many others. . I know EXACTLY how you feel. I switched gears for a few years career wise...at one time i sold my favorite car becuse i couldnt afford to repair it...and i put my house on the market. I kept after the market but in a SMALL way...just to keep the powder dry without burning out. I was working during the day and a bartender at night to pay bills...that was only a few years ago. Today I am fine...better than fine really. living in a wonderful place wiht a great job, my own fund, great connections happy family etc. So i am going to give you this advice...take a breather...but dont quit. study ,read, gather your thoughts. give it some time...THEN come back. Dont fight the market or your performance. If you lost money you will probably lose it again. It takes time to get good.
I guess its an ego thing - thinking you can learn one of the most difficult professions on your own. Ego is the most dangerous things in life but especially in trading. Once I get consistently profitable I'm going to offer free mentorship to new traders cause if I can prevent just one guy from going through what I've been through then its worth it.
Hi Yoda, I agree that DAC, has some good advice. Take a breather, and comeback later. I have been trading for 14 months, not profitable yet, but I feel I am getting close. I took a break, after 11 months of studying & trading. Since I came back, things are going much better. I believe that I will be profitable in about 3 or 4 months. Stick with in, in the long run most things pay off.
Why not buy a less expensive car or a used car and then use the remaining difference as capital - unless you can get by without one.
illinimatt81 has a good point. Your insurance rate would go down as well. 1-2k left is like trading scared. I personally would feel uncomfortable trading under those circumstances. Trading because I have to is a bit too much pressure psychologically. What I've done is increase capital and plan in case things go wrong, because failure may not be an option, but it's a reality.