Is any body out there who was in a similar situation?

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by Thousand, Dec 3, 2005.

  1. Thousand

    Thousand

    Hi NihabaAshi,

    I moved out of my parents' place a year ago, and I only took the things that I bought. I moved out because I don't want to burden my parents anymore. Also, I don't want people to look down on me as a 25 year old guy who is still living with parents.

    I have only been doing an accounting job for a year, so my income is not as good as most accountants. The $20,000 student loan that I have accumulated during my university years is a burden, but I have stretched the term to its maximum to allow better cash flow. I am also working on an accounting designation, which is also taking a chunk out of my income. With rent and other expenses, it is very difficult for me to accumulate any saving.

    I have tried to apply for better paying accounting jobs. I was lucky to get some interviews, but everytime I went for an interview, the discussion would shift to an investing/trading discussion. It was obvious for the employer to see that I was going for the job only because of the money. Also, my lack of experience as an accountant is making it difficult for me to get another job.

    I would really love to get a job as a trader or even just a trading assistant, but there are very limited opportunity here in Canada. So trading with my own account is as close to getting my dream job.

    I know trading with my line-of-credit is very risky, but I know what I am doing. With my full-time job, I could use part of my earnings to pay off some of the interests. Also, I am hoping that when I finish my accounting designation, I would have a better paying job and more free time for a second job.

    Thousand
     
    #11     Dec 3, 2005
  2. esmjb

    esmjb

    3 yrs ago i got canned from my options trading job right at the bottom of the market. nobody was hiring (or at least didnt want to hire me). i basically begged this guy to give me a trading job. he payed me nothing and the hours were 2am to 9am, horrendous. i made sure i gave 100% to this job because i had to make it. i worked very hard and achieved my goals. bottom line, if the only job you want to do is trade then you should suffer and do whatever it takes to make it happen. make sure that failure is not an option.
     
    #12     Dec 3, 2005
  3. volente_00

    volente_00

    Did you trade a Swift ?


    It seems to me that your let your pride put yourself in this situation.
    Move back home, pay your folks some rent for a good gesture, pay off that student loan, save some money, get an evening job. You will never make it trading scared money. Trading for a living is about making sacrifices in order to reach a final destination. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way. In the mean time pay off that debt and get your living expenses as low as possible to start building capital up to trade. There are 2 kinds of people in life, those that let things happens, and those that make things happen. Which one do you think is more successful ?
     
    #13     Dec 3, 2005
  4. wtf. you were terminated because you didn't show enough performance.... and now you are using loaned money.

    nice
     
    #14     Dec 3, 2005
  5. get double jobs...dayjob and bartender/pizza man...if you really hate what you are doing and you are near an affluent golf club try caddying--much better in spring and summer, but I often did this to increase my gambling bankroll as I could make $100 in cash easily during summer months. I have friends who have bartended and make good money.

    Don't trade if you don't have the money.
     
    #15     Dec 3, 2005
  6. Thousand

    Thousand

    Yes, I did trade at Swift. It was the only trading firm back then. There was no other trading firm to work for.

    I did consider moving back to my parents' place, but then I would be back into the comfort zone.
     
    #16     Dec 3, 2005
  7. ifriend

    ifriend

    Never speculate with borrowed money,you will dig yourself a deeper hole that will be a quick sandpit. If you have confidence in your skills trading short term within a day,the only help you need is a reliable data feed and quick execution platform have the necessary capital if you are classified as a patterned day trader.

    looking for a job in trading is a sign of weakness in a person,they should want to keep all the profits for themselves rather then giving up some to others. Their are benefits to be in an environment where others are doing the same thing such as a trading room. These benefits include becoming aware of other views on a potential trading short term situation.

    Live your dream but not with scared money your description of your experience in trading with a firm,they did not feel your future with them will benefit them. Have self confidence that they were wrong. Even if they thought you were or have the ability to be good,it would only be a matter of time that you would move on where you keep a greater percentage of your mental trading skills. You have many years to live your dream,but again not with borrowed money .
     
    #17     Dec 3, 2005
  8. yeayo

    yeayo

    Thousand, I'd suggest you get your experience as a trader off your resume - it is death on any resume unless your a trader for an IB or hedge fund. They see trader and they see a guy who's unafraid to take risks and be entrepeneurial and will probably just use the job as a stepping stone or as way to build up some risk capital (which you obviously want to do anyway, but you can't give them any hints).
     
    #18     Dec 3, 2005
  9. Well... you asked for advice, you got it, but then you said I know it's risky but I know what I'm doing.

    So if you know what you are doing, why are you here?

    I don't want this to sound too harsh, and I don't think it's impossible for a person to make their fortune starting with $3000, because there are people who have done it. Can you do it? I doubt it, but only because of what you have told us. I am not sure if your experiences taking losses have shown you that your state of mind is a big part of trading. If you are trading on borrowed money, having failed at your 'mainstream' attempt to trade, and are being pursued by the spectre of moving back home or being stuck in a job you hate, and are wrestling with concepts of self-worth based on where you are in life and what had happened, it is not conducive to success. The #1 rule in trading is that you should be trading money which will not affect your lifestyle. I am sorry to tell you this, but that does not include cash advances on a line of credit.

    You're only 25? Then the most relevant question has already been asked by someone else in this thread - do you really want to trade? If so, quit now, pay off the line of credit (slowly, like your student loan, because I am almost 100% sure that the reason you are posting here is that you have experienced some recent losses and that have depleted your 'borrowed money' account), then save money for 3 years, work two jobs, paper trade, do whatever you have to do, then try again without borrowed money.

    Good luck to you.

    EDIT:

    I just realized.... you say that you know what you are doing is very risky (it is).

    The why are you doing it? Why are you trying to trade with such high risk? Is it a last ditch effort? If it fails (and you know that high risk strategies are high risk because they are much more likely to fail), then will you give up for good?

    Wouldn't you be better off trading with lower risk?
     
    #19     Dec 3, 2005