Is any firm good, or is it you?

Reading these posts has made me feel that there isn't a firm out there that is worth working at. I think I have figured out why. Most of the people who come here to hack a firm have probably got there a55e5 kicked or can't make much and want to blame someone other then themselves. Look people if you were one of the best a firm will give you almost anything you want just to get, or keep you there. So quit your bitching, learn how to trade, and you will get what you want out of any of these firms.

 

What's the point of your post? The point of a discussion board is to inform. The complainers have some valid points. Just like the guys who say only good things about firms.

 

"Look people if you were one of the best a firm will give you almost anything you want just to get, or keep you there. "

No 5h*t.

 

Sure, maybe you are right, bad way to start with my FIRST post. Sure I came of a little harsh, but you know and I know that what I said is correct. I just got a bad first impression from reading these posts and wanted to say something. I also saw a lot of false information about firms. I have many friends that work for the bigger firms (Worldco, Hold, ETG, Generic, Andover), some have even worked at 4 different firms (hehe). Remember people the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I mean come on people, these places are not there for you, they are there to make money. Most of these trading firms are in the business of TRADING TRADERS. Makes sense huh! In fact some of these firms even seem like the Bucket Shops of the late 1800's. Pick your poison and try not to get screwed! The point I am trying to get across is that most of these firms are tough on you when you don't make much money and wax your wanker when you are the best. There is nothing I would rather do then play this game and beat the best and smartest at their own game! Any way, didn't want to start a flame. Go easy on me peps.

 

Funny how you posted this but I see very few complaining. WorldCO and other firms (proprietary not professional) actually front you the start up capital so it isn't the worst deal as you are making it seem.

rtharp

 

as abrasive you came across (not to me) but you hit the nail on
the head. I had heated exchanges (which I won't go into) over
similar threads. This is a very informative and helpfull board but
it won't hold your hand and wipe your ....brow. Of course if
a trader had four firms as difficult as the markets have been, after
the third I would have sit down with someone who is not afraid
of plain truth and no BS introspection.
This is not for the faint hearted and underfunded folk. Yes as
someone stated here before - trustfund babies and monied class
has distinct advantage. Anyway first step is the most difficult
honesty, sooner or later you will discover why you yearn to be a
trader after all, and if you should be one you will prevail or not,
it depends...after all if you are young you can always save some
money, go back to school.

 

Regardless of your experience as a trader. If the firm has poor software it will affect everyone. On the surface your statement seems logical; a firm will kiss the butt of their good traders so any complainers must be poor traders. Being in this industry as long as I have and trading at many firms I can tell you that most of these firms are not run by logical people. There are firms that have gone out of business because their management wanted to draw a "line in the sand" regarding commissions, company liability on system problems, or other issues. Arrogance is big in this industry. Some of the firms you mentioned as the "bigger firms" are almost out of business due to losing their best traders to mistreatment and inflexability. Some of these firms are doing great, even in this market (Worldco, Andover), these are the firms you want to trade at.

 

i would like to "echo" some previous post.....there are great firms out there and there are some very poor firms out there. but obviously you are new to this arena so we will try to be patient with you until you are humbled (and if you do this full time you will be humbled). there is more to trading at one of these firms than just making big money. its also about having a condusive environment to work in. Its also nice to enjoy a mutual respect with the people you work with and for!!!!!!! there are some tremendous a$$----s in this industry and there are some incredible people also. so take a deep breath and think about how big of a jerk your first post made you sound like.

 

As the moderator of this forum I'll make a suggestion. What would be a lot more useful for readers is if you posted good/bad about firms with specific examples. This makes for very clear reading compared to a general statement that all firms suck.

It makes for a stronger read to say THe firm XYZ sucks due to numberous problems. First is because they don't answer their phone till 5 rings. I was long 10,000 shares of AOL but had my cable go out, I tried to call the trade desk but by the time they answered it had already dropped a point. This alone cost me $10,000. Lastly, they have major software problems. The software seems to go down each time I enter a huge position, I tried buying 20,000 shares of IBM when it was trading at 100. THe order screen gave a problem and before I could blink IBM was trading at 105 which means the problem cost me $100,000.


This is much stronger writing than the firm XYZ sucks.

Please give us specifics backed with examples.

Rtharp