The advice I gave is just one option to consider. It certainly is not the only option. If one feels compelled to "go full time", go for it! Just don't go into debt doing so.
The problem I see with becoming a prop, whoever shows up has for most part no experience or if they do, they lost it all and looking how to trade then leave, the one guy you hoping that walks through the door and has smarts, he won't be there long as he thinks he now knows how to trade and not smart enough to know he at beginning and finding the edge of the edge is not enough. At one time long ago thought arrogance was clever, but you end up people disliking you and attract others who have this façade of life, it is better to know who you really are, start a network of better traders to chat and be surprised who you meet on this forum as their are some incredible traders here. And there many here that have failed and act poorly, but they worse than being arrogant, this forum many more retail but we all had a starting point-I came from retail decades ago. It is good to see what others of your caliber so that I might change the old dinosaur ways I been doing. Why not hire programmers to make your own platforms, charting, back testing, optimizing, risk management programing and change whatever on the fly than spend 13k a month, just my thoughts. Nice chart and can see and know all the indicators, you watch indicators 33 years, not much you can't figure out even proprietary. Do you find the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo cloud to be better of a catastrophic protective stops or just use as trend? I am an "old timer", always thought my brain can beat any expensive computer as computers are a tool and can't think as my brain, programming is faster than me, it can remember much more and faster, but it can't develop systems from start to finish normally unless you give parameters and a pattern of steps in development and often times left with optimizing scans, but whereas old me can see way before the finish something not right, computer will keep going till finish or try to finish. We all been there where really near to end it crashes, LOL. Yeah, I use to buy the fastest most newest every six months, waste of money, now faster fiber gigabyte optics connection locations, yeah and leasing a server very near exchange you doing business. Get rid of the traders and go to 100% automation, they don't call in sick nor require vacations or argue or......shitload of other complaints. Many and myself on this forum do give our time back to those starting and will try to show those putting in the heavy time of learning some help. But WAY too many want answers when they put in less than a minimum amount of work- and I walk away, get tired of those who think this going to be easy. But most see the markets I nor longer can see and they generate ideas for me to back test, so giving back gives me tenfold of ideas. I work for myself, now have a partner who does the programming, 1-2 years plan on starting a Hedge fund for fun, means more to my partner though. All automation, others check trades, so in a way if I was one who relaxed waiting to die on some beach, no hours worked, but I love what I do and when I want to do it up to me and never is work. And if this seems arrogant, I am sorry, but am just an old timer. Time for Starbucks. They opening more stores, adding more products, coffee machines in businesses but only in Japan, thinking it would kill off store fronts too much and might actually overall sell less of an addictive product in USA. Although Starbucks don't have the best tasting coffee in the states for me, nice place to hang out, though I do like coffee at Cracker Barrel, Bakery Café and few steak places that serve from a frozen coffee package one serving at a time, and yes, I own shares of SBUX. Like to see S&P 500 get above last weeks close. Have a fun weekend all, do something you never tried, ER's need business too. LOL
junxu, Many of us went that route but often we worked a little longer than 10-20 yrs, saved a little more than $200K. Many of us survived 2008. One way to provide a safety net is to transition from full time employment to part time while increasing the time spend trading. You know what, one day we cut the cord and never looked back. Best wishes,
The database software alone is $250k, the prop process was very simple. $400/mth platform, $12 500/mth algos subsidised at 80% so $2,900/mth. If they don't have $10k for a 3mth run there is a 99.9% chance of failure. From that 80% subsidy they give up 20% profits for access to the fintech under their own capital, if they want fintech and support for failed or successful trades under their own capital they give up 50% profits, and for fintech plus mentoring under our capital 80% of profits. But no one has $10k, and the time is better spent trading our own accounts rather than filtering prospective traders, with btc only kept $5k capital but trade profits via leveraged fitures were the same as someone controlling $200k. Given it's taken six years to design the strategy and fintech, AKJ asked us to fintech launch small funds for their customers as their funds AUM range from $2mil to $2mil, but we're not giving up the algos. Plus I don't pay $13k, I helped develop parts of it.
Simply because your last post quotes. "It is hard for me to believe every family in the tri state area are making more than $100K a year. Yet people survive on less and by choice they live there instead of moving to Kansas. Maybe happiness is a state of mind once the basic necessities are taken care of?" Which means you have experience of working more for less, next uneducated statement.
The best traders all have one thing in come - they are highly transparent. They do not not ever gloat about their winnings or being superior to other traders. A traders worst draw done is the one yet to come. Novices tend to think they can buy their way into having an edge - good luck with that. "Their are old traders & there are bold traders, but there are now older bold traders"