Thanks for your post. I'm going to be starting at Worldco soon (providing I pass the @#^%$ Series 55 test this weekend). Glad to hear that there are some long-time traders there that are happy with the company. FWIW, my interview experience was generally good. I got a good deal and the company itself seems like a decent place to work. Sure, the human resource staff sucks but it does at all companies. Sure, the recruiter seemed a bit shady but it's his job to make a good deal for the company, not you. I wonder if most of these complaints come from people with little work experience. I'm coming from Morgan Stanley (not in trading) and fundamentally it's the same: no one is going to hand you a six-figure salary unless you can prove you're worth it, they expect you to work your butt off, and those who are not productive get canned. I really don't see how Worldco holds a philosophy that is any different from any other Wall Street firm. Get in with the company you want to work for and work your ass off. The rest will sort itself out. If you're expecting to sit there picking goobers all day and make a million, you're in for a surprise. I know it sucks to get cut from a firm. I was laid off from MS in the post-9/11 cuts. But I picked myself up, I'm going to make a career change, and I expect to work hard at it. If I fail, fine, but at least I know I tried something I've really wanted to do for a while and that I gave it 100%. What more can you ask for?
bad mouthing firms. I personally think that anyone who bad mouths a firm is because they are loser traders. And if they received bad treatment from management they probably wanted to get rid of you. IF you make money firms will treat you really good, and if you dont...well you know the answer.
worldco has a new office in my area. I have heard so much about prop firms/daytrading that is negative, but I have also learned that there are some consistent money making traders out there that have good deals. I am in a position now that I could go the prop route, but after having been a stock broker in the early 90's I know about all the sleaze and spin that goes on. I also know that if you are putting up $10k and only trading 100shrs that you are better of staying home.
I really think it's time for you to get a clue... The "sleaze and spin" that goes along with being a stockbroker do you mean? These people are traders...nothing to do with stockbroking..apples and oranges. Put up $10k and only get to trade 100shares? Which idiot prop firm would give someone a deal like that. They may limit you to 100 shares for a week or so, just to make sure you have some idea of what you are doing..and don't put the firm in a hole by trading too big and holding losses..
Why? I put up half that and after two months I made four figures last week and am up to 500-share positions. The 100 share limit is just until you prove yourself. If you'd rather trade on your own, that's fine but saying prop firms are rip-off deals is just plain wrong.
That's the deal I got and I'm making mad cash after just a few months. But I guess I know something about trading.
quit bitching about firms and simply go trade. no matter which company you work for it comes down to you to succeed.
LOL. When I read Hitman's journals, it was glaringly obviuous to me that he was a good trader on his way to becoming a terrific one. Look at the journals on ET and do the per share profit - then, go and do the math on the weekly down days and down months. Next, note that he makes 90%+ of his money strictly from the long side. If he can increase his per share profit as efficiently as he has, he will be at 150K-200K/year by the end of this year. If he trains his mind to symmetrically trade the market by going both long and short, and if my estimate is correct, I believe that it will take him another 2 or 3 years to make it to 500K/year - not because he needs a greater trading skill, but because he plays a very defensive game and he will increase his share size very cautiously. I agree that a full time trader that makes 100K/year is not special in the ranks of other profitable traders. What you fail to realize is HOW he makes 100K/year. In this way, he is one of the most consistent traders I know, and this is SPECIAL... nitro
$100,000/yr as a full time trader may not seem much when the group you are comparing against is only the winners. Throw in all the losing traders and $100k/yr starts to look like incredible success. Making $100k/yr with conservative risk management so that it can be repeated year after year is something that most people would give a lot for.