Believe it or not ol' "Ken Roberts" got me into commodities, so <that> is how it all started for me.....lol! I then got into calendar trading commodities, then switched just to T-Bonds, then I went to "options" on T-Bonds I then got very interested in equity options and went almost exclusively into trading them for a couple of years. I then stopped trading and starting studying prop. shops for about 1 1/2 years looked at all of them until I found the firm I'm with now and studying for my S7, and just working with my mentor/trainer and learning the subtle nuances of futures trading now (what I'm currently re-focused on) specifically the ES, NQ and mini-Dow. Also watching SSF's as I believe they'll be a great vehicle in the near future. J-
Started at age 18 on the Floor of the Chicago Mercantile exchange as an exchange employee - basically I graduated high school and the the following week started work there .... Worked my way through college working for the exchange in operations and writing computer software: Later started writing software systems for member firms and traders. Went to grad school, wrote more complicated scientific systems, started some businesses .... Now some of my systems and discoveries are used for one of my firms in the markets.... A long and progressive history. By far the most useful part of it with respect to learning how successful traders made money was working on the trading floor ...
Started at 21 Years old, Been trading 4 years NASD NYSE S&P EMini I started as a prop trader, at the now defunct Broadway Trading right out of college. BA in finance didn't help... I lost about 10K in 6 months, then I woke up one day and somthing clicked. Even through this abismal market I have made a living. I'm certainly not getting rich at the moment, but I'm not starving. My advice for a novice: Forget what your GPA was in college. Mine was 3.87 didn't help Understand you WILL lose some money initially, the key is to make sure it's not your own. Treat trading as a carrer not a hobbie. Find a place that will spend the time to train you the right way. Don't be afraid to spend money on good software and research, it pays for its self tenfold if you learn how to use it. Many LLC's are now giving 10-1 leverage on as little as 5K of risk capital for novice traders, the benifits are: being treated like a retail customer, great training, low exposure,no nasd licencing required, 100% payouts on net profits etc. Drawbacks:Higher clearing fees.........Not a bad way to get started If you want to check one out wkitrading.com I know the rate schedual starts at .00975 per share with no volume requirements Good Luck
I think ES / NQ trades more by "the books" then stocks. I switched to ES as a testing at first.. but then i noticed ES can be alot more profitable if you are already a discipline daytrader. Some stocks are too thin to trade.. some are too thick for any action, and you are left with only a handfull of stocks that are really "tradable" day in day out. ----> then mind as well learn the ES and stick to it.
Started as a broker right out of college, thinking this would lead to trading. That didn't last long. Nothing like cold calling all day. Then went straight to futures trading (1987, just before the market hiccup). Went nearly broke twice while learning. I now specialize in ES like so many here due to all its advantages, but before I knew better, I would day trade anything (bellies, lumber, coffee, etc), it was nuts! Now I won't even trade NQ (because for some reason I can't make it work). Something to be said for looking at only one market all day, although it can get boring when you only trade a half dozen times per day like I do. Jay
I understand the essence of the above quote, but I'm trying to figure out the logic of it. Say I fall down 8 times and get up after each time: down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up There are 8 downs and 8 ups. Where does the get up 9 come from? F. PeBBLe
Started @ age 22 at Schonfeld right out of www.miami.edu they had a great training program. Still learning and liking it. - BMW
Got a Masters in life sciences, started working in biotech without much enthusiasm. Then I was introduced to the financial markets by accident. Became hopelessly fascinated, started reading, then papertrading, then trading a small account for about 7 months now. I trade in the morning and work four days a week. Started with stocks, now switched to EMinis and SSFs. Didn't reach consistency on the profitable side yet (I am consistent on the losing side though), but I won't give up till I do. I plan to join a prop firm soon.