Yes this is fine, once you know how to trade your own funds....then you can move on to trading for others on your terms (just as I do).
I think this is a somwhat tough spot, there are lots of ex-pit traders looking for a job. I can say from the hiring at my firm that they are reluctant to hire pit traders cause the skills don't transfer readily to electronic trading. You have to be to demonstrate ability well beyond buying the bids and selling offers. I am a former pit trader, I took the first crummy job I got, built up my resume and then moved on. Best of luck to you.
Thats pretty much what I expect to be waiting for me. Starting from scratch. Not what I wanted to hear, but what I expected. Thanks.
you can do it, people are transitioning. You have a ton of experience, you can find a way to make it work for you.
Programming C# and .net would help you a lot. If you look in the website I provided earlier most trading jobs nowadays require you to be fluent in those languajes. Also, get yourself a playstation 2, or a cuople of good computer games [like quake] that would help you become faster with your fingers... it helps when trading electronically.
The biggest difference in the transition is that order flow dosen't come to you. What you first have to develop is a strategy which isn't reliant upon getting that execution edge. Once you get that strategy down, you can work on getting more edge. Trading like an upstairs trader on the floor made the transition easier for me. Everyone I know who traded on the floor and just went off of order flow is out of the business. Start upstairs trading small and not the same size you used to swing in the pit. Good luck!
I have noticed that a lot of traders' resumes contain some programming background. Why is that? I don't see how the two go together?
That's a good question. I think it's got something to do with the logical thinking requierd to program computers, as well as being able to transmit your ideas to an automated trading system, and thus becoming more efficient.