Hi there, There seems to be a lot of experienced individuals on here so any advice is greatly appreciated. A little background...I recently graduated with a finance degree from USF, have worked all through college (have experience in banking) and traded my own capital here and there on the side. I am due for a career change...obviously I am interested in becoming fully vested in the market (trading). I have 30k to get started on my own. What advice would you give me on getting started trading full time. Would you suggest getting started a a prop firm or venture out into the markets from home? Given the economic conditions...there doesn't seem to be a lot of advertising for "traders" in the papers. If anyone knows of any firms in the ST.Pete/Tampa area..that would be greatly appreciated as well. Best Regars, TB
do you really think your the first guy to post this msg, if youre smart enough to make it in trading you should maybe make a search
Yes, do a search. There are plenty of threads on this subject, especially recently. Due for a career change? You realize how silly that sounds since you just graduated right? But one thing you'll hear time and time again is that your degree and your experience in banking have not prepared you for trading at all. A job in a financial firm doing god knows what, sure. If by "prop firm" you're referring to firms which simply require the 7 and a deposit, then you're all set. But I would definitely go to an office every day to be around experienced, profitable people instead of going at it alone and at home. Trading at home is great. I do it now. But I traded out of an office for years. In short, if I were you, with 30k and young, I'd go with a leveraged firm like Bright or Echo, and find an office nearby with guys who have been doing it for many years. It depends on the office, but I think you'd be amazed at how many people will be willing to give you pointers. You won't need your entire 30 to open an account, so you'll have some cash on the side to pay some bills for a while. You'll need your 7, but big deal. I've traded with Echo for years, so I hope this doesn't sound like an advertisement, but so be it. There are plenty of leveraged firms out there, you just need to find one with an office in your area. Again, do searches on this site and you will find what you need. I guess I just felt like typing on a Friday night. Good luck.