I was in a similar situation to you a number of years ago and I began tasting the success of trading. I began getting good and came very close to quitting school. It would have been the worst mistake of my life. Not only did I not quit undergrad, I went on to get my MBA and traded the whole way through it. It took me many, many, many years to get to the point where I was consistently profitable. I suspect it will take you many years as well. There is no easy road. Get a real job, pay down your CC debt, think about getting an MBA. Once you are more financially secure you can come back to trading and if that doesn't happen for whatever reason you can always trade the Asian futures markets in the evenings. I'm a highly profitable trader and I won't hesistate to tell you, <b>Don't choose trading as a career.</b> There is a lot of heartache even if you get good. Whatever you do, do not take on more CC debt and put it in the market. You will never be able to trade freely when the bank owns your ass. There's only one road -- the hard one.
Thanks for the advice everyone, I really really appreciate it. I guess I am not that surprised the opinions were unanimously in favor of getting the job. That is what I will do. Best of luck to everyone.
I know you don't want to hear this but a firm that requires any deposit is not a "legitimate" prop firm. A real prop firm does not require a deposit and they take only top notch ivy league people. Not to mention, they teach real strategies and have a vested interest in your success way beyond 5k. God forbid, watch what happens when your 5k melts away. Edit: Good Choice!
What's really sad, disappointing and unfortunate is that I had $50k in savings and no debt just 3 years ago. I don't even know where it all went, but I certainly didn't lose it to the market.
Prove me wrong. Unless you're working at SIG, FNYS and the like, you are not at a real prop firm. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but true prop firms also pay a salary.