Hi I am a British prop trader. I started three of months ago on a simulator and have realised it is just not for me. I do not have the balls to accept the risk and I hate the volatility inherent in trading as your only source of income. I really really want to get out as quickly as possible. I dont really have alot of non trading experience, but I do have a top class education and some interesting experiences behind me. What would people suggest I do ? What are unsuccessful (or like me unwilling) prop traders doing now ?
yes - I have a Oxbridge 2:1 but I have no real experience. This makes finding things difficult... It is really hard to get a job as an investment analyst - though this is what I am looking at - even though I want out of the whole investment arena ASAP !
if you cannot stand any kind of uncertainty then go to government or teaching. if you hate them, then you'll have to brainwash yourself into accepting and thrive from uncertainty, all private sector careers, even relationships have some degree of uncertainty, no job is certain. may i suggest reading mamis "the nature of risk"? i hated trading at the beginning too, couldn't understand why the market was going up immediately after i went short and viceversa, the losses, the stress, feeling like bambi in hunting season. but i hated academia and the corporate world even more. so i persisted and now i hate myself for not getting into trading earlier and i hate everybody i met since i was born for not telling me about trading LOL. of course, i had a plan b if it didn't work out i understand it's not for everybody. go for teaching or government if you cannot stand the heat when the market kicks your *ss
don't listen to the mean replies, with your education you are probably better off getting a real job than trying to make a buck in those bucket shop. It's not for you and it's not for 99% of the people. Last I heard all these Bund traders are having a real tough time competing to make 2 ticks per day. Why do you say it's tough for you to get a job in London? If you just got out of college , you can say on your CV you took a sabbatical went to the States or whatever and not even mention prop trading
Kudos for admitting it, but if your education is as good as you say it is then there should be a sprinkling of maths in there somewhere. In that case, sit down and calmly look at your risk profile. Do you have an edge (a positive expectancy over a large number of trades) ? Can you manage the per-trade risk so that no balls are required for trading, just simple, bored decisionmaking? If you can answer yes to both, reconsider your decision.