John47: Thanks for sharing... this is very inspirational. Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can be achieved. Go for it, you will do good.
Has that masters degree helped you at all? I was thinking about going back to school for the same thing. Though I wouldn't think or expect such a degree to make you a better trader. It could however help open a few more "doors." Appreciate any suggestions...
Having personally identified a strong positive correlation between my hours of sleep and my automated trading systems P&L, I am quite surprised to learn you have to work 14 hours a day to make money...
I think about my old man. How hard he made me work before I got this shot. How I started to resent him a bit...but now, appreciate him more than he'll know. He worked like this, and he made it, with no college degree and nothing going for him...and he wanted me to do the same. My advice is to tell your father how much you appreciate what he did,and continues, to do for you. Fathers don't often hear it enough from their children. My guess is that you will make his day,and your realtionship with him will strengthen.
All the stories in this post are great. I am touched and moved by it since I was in similar situation as some of you guys. I was working in computers for several years and wanted to make a move to trading but was hesitant for a while. I am glad that I went into trading. Trading has taught me alot. I would recommended to those who wanted to pursue your dreams in trading to just go for it. If you don't make it, you can always fallback to something else. Great story John47
Well as you would expect the Masters does not teach you specifically to trade, that education is more expensive and usually on your own . The Masters gave me a more in depth and detailed knowledge of the different markets including equities, bonds, options, forex, swaps, futures, financial theory, modeling, pricing securities, econometrics etc.. If you wanted to go work for an institution or firm, you would have a strong background as many graduates went right to Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Merrill Lynch, etc... Not for pure trading but for risk management, portfolio management/modeling and dealing with more complex derivatives. For me it was to gain as much knowledge as I could to be able to design my own models and strategies and learn the complexities of each market as opposed to just relying on my then options knowledge. Now a clerk turned trader turned floor trader/market maker of course undergoes their own Master's Degree and it is not that one is better than the other, it is just a different approach. I wanted a higher sophistication of the markets and models and theories behind them because my goals are much higher than just trading. I also work on computer models and systems along with my brother to take my trading to the next level and I never would have been able to do that without the advanced degree. Lots of people ask me about the Masters and I always tell them it depends on what you want to do. It does grant you a lot of credibility in risk management, modeling and diverse portoflio management but not in the pure trading area where stars are trained as opposed to "educated".
I think the moral of all of this is that if you want to trade for a living - making your own calls - you mostly need to buy your way in. Thank god for decimilization as it's lowered the barriers to entry (albeit the profitability as well). If you accept that, then you'll agree that you need to live below your means in order to save the grubstake when you are young enough for the risk/reward to remain favorable (no kids, no mortgage, no real obligations). If you believe that, then you'll agree that in order to actually trade successfully, you need to maintain a lifestyle that is below your means in order to up your size over time without risking everything. If one is disciplined enough to forego the high-life for so long in order to learn to trade successfully, then they are likely the type who will do well in trading as they are probably doing it for the experience, not solely for the money. I know I feel that way. In the words of T. Boone Pickens: "I don't do it for the money, I just sure as hell don't wanna lose."