(sorry, this is a n00b thread) I am not much of a mathematical person, but I want to be a day trader. So here is the dilemma, I have heard that Comp. Programming is important if I wanted to efficiently develop mechanical systems etc. So I want to take one or two computer science classes, but I have a good GPA now and Computer Science don't come to me easy, so if I take it I might end up with a less than steller GPA and I might not be able to go to a grad school such as a law school etc one day if I wish to. What would you do? and also I know there are so many Programming languages out there, like C++, and Perl and Java etc etc, which language do you really need? thanks a lot... Nelson...
I've been in the I.T. field for over 6 years now, so maybe I can provide some help. I haven't, nor do I plan on developing any trading systems. But from what I've read about various systems, and how their created, a simple BASIC programming class along with a Visual Basic programming class should be enough for you to create a trading system. Regards,
Depends on your style. If you're into mechanical implementation and dont have the dough to hire programmers, then YOU have to learn. But from what I understand, programming and mechnical setup might NOT be your most fitting option.. Have you tried discretionary?
I see what you're getting at. If you're concerned about tarnishing your gpa, don't take a programming class. The level of programming required to develop systems in TS or Wealth-Lab is a low one. I would recommend picking up a "Learn VBA in 21 days" or "Learn Pascal in 21 days" book and teaching yourself in your free time. If you have simple VBA under your belt, Tradestation's "EasyLanguage" will be... easy. Plus VBA is a valuable skill.
I only started writing good systems after trading for a while. The systems (which I thought were great) sucked as much as I did when first starting out. I saw blue and red arrows and said yeah, just gonna follow those arrows. But then after a couple of years, I saw a blue arrow after the market had been in an uptrend for five days and said, hey why the f*** am I buying here? No way. Oh, there's a gap down in an uptrend - I'm gonna cover and go long here. To truly understand a system, you have to observe it. Sometimes, the signal won't make complete sense and at times it will do better than you, but more times than not, you're going to eliminate the silly trades - some conditions are quite obvious. So at least for me, the systems have been improving through age and only with the benefit of trading wisdom. I would love to meet a trader who takes black box signals with complete confidence. Now that takes balls.
On a personal note, GPA is a great thing, but dont be so afraid as to no go outside your comfort zone. Dont make the mistake I did when i was in college. I took TWO math courses. I finished with a stellar GPA but felt "cheated" .. .if you know what I mean. Why dont you audit the class, ie.. take it pass or fail?
Then again, programming isn't necessary at all. But knowing a little algebra will probably come in quite handy. (Hey, there are LOTS of fine code writers who can't trade for squat. If they could, some would BE trading and eventually making way more money. You have things to learn which dwarf the importance of programming.)
It comes down to this. If you have a great but reasonably complicated idea, then you must have some programming skills to implement it. Otherwise ,you'll just have to hire or beg a programmer to help you,and then he/she will steal your system and retire off of it.