Dear Mr. Lazarus: This letter is in regard to your "Day trader AWOL -- no surprise" column of July 12th 2002, specifically: "Fritz McCormick, an analyst at Celent Communications was asked what his advice would be to anyone still pondering a stab at day trading ... "I'd tell him to go find a real job," McCormick replied." Mr. McCormick's comment is flip and illustrates his limited understanding of day trading. Remember that the term "daytrader" describes individuals with an enormous range of capital, share volume, sophistication and profitability. I have been a daytrader since 1997 and continue to earn a fine living as such. It is far less rewarding and substantially more difficult and stressful than years past, yet even today daytrading can be a "real job" and opportunities are STILL available to certain individuals. The industry is certainly not for most people, as evidenced by the substantial losses and exodus of most daytraders during the past year. More appropriate advice to those considering this field would include the following: (1) exercise caution and common sense, especially given that the majority of daytraders are no longer in business; (2) learn about the industry in great detail from a variety of sources, including both former traders who have lost their shirts and active traders who are still successful (note that some firms are owned and run by desparate and scummy individuals); (3) look for an opportunity to learn as an intern or from a mentor who currently trades and is successful; (4) consider who you are and what you want in a career - compare this with the risk, stress and discipline required in daytrading; and (5) evaluate whether you have capital that will cover your living expenses for 6 - 12 months in addition to RISK CAPITAL, which may be required for trading (RISK CAPITAL is money that you can <and quite possibly will> lose in its entirety without devastating your finances. You must be sufficiently "Risk Capitalized" to have enough to accomodate a long learning curve as well as inevitable losses in the course of business). Thank you for your time and consideration. - Oliver XXXXXXX P.S. In the way of fair disclosure, I very well may leave trading in the near future to pursue more dynamic and entreprenuerial alternatives - I can only stare at little numbers jetting around my screen and news headlines on my Bloomberg terminal for so long. P.P.S. Don't bet the grocery money, but I think this week proves to be the bottom of the downslide.