i type so fast i forget how to spell....and im not sure what a back up life is. I never did understand that way of thinking. College is the back up I always belived. A degree is the safty net per sa, although its not much of a net with todays job creation numbers. Traders cant go into trading for a living, thinking about back ups. Its all or nothing, non of this part time daytrading, there is no such thing, even though many want to belive they can do it as a part time job. ITS ALL OR NOTHING FOR TRADERS, investors are diffrent. It is very hard to make it as a trader year in and year out, one good year or month does not make you a trader. Consistent returns through out your life....Two years may not be enough of a learning curve for some, and plenty for others. Trading is like no job on the market, it doesnt have set hours(even though the market closes at X time, trading continues in your thoughts, ur research, etc.) You can just "knock off" and take up the task left unfinished the next day like a lot of suit and ties. Trading is a whole nother world, a whole nother thought process and life style( i dont mean the money aspect). Just the fact that you sink and swim by ur own doings is hard enough to accept. Each day is uncertain in many aspects as is ur future. This is something that you must manage day in and day out as a trader who trades for a living. The UNKNOWN is exciting as it is nerve racking. However, the UNKNOWN seems to be filling the VOID in the corporate mans life as a recent trend......they never know when the lay offs are coming, if they will get a raise, etc. So, im not so sure what a Safty plan is anymore....the only safty or semi safty net is a trust fund.
Hmmmm.... I graduated from High School and was given the choice of College/University or Trading. I chose Trading out of interest and never looked back. One should never consider failure first when it comes to chasing your goals. Why chase goals unless you are sure of success? In fact, many entrepreneur's advice is to "go out and chase your dreams, forget failure and backups, just go". Also, at the end of your life are you going to want to remember not chasing your dream due to fear of failure? Or do you prefer remembering those daring days where you fought for your goals...regardless of failure? For naysayers : -If you have doubts about your success, don't even bother trying until you don't. -Or take up trading for a year and if you fail, you can go back to school.
If you want to go into trading, unless you can get into a big Wall Street firm that has a division that engages specifically in the activity, you will be disappointed by becoming a broker or a desk trader, etc. I spent 12 years in the brokerage business, and you know, all the money was made in corporate finance even though everyone "traded" here and there. I learned trading on the side, and in the end, had to make my own tools. ;o)
highlandercrew , understand that everyones situation is diffrent. I think if in your heart you want to trade then go for it and dont look back. I also came from the corporate world as a market maker for the last 15 years and beleive me they dont care about you. I dont think at this time your missing anything by not entering corporate america. Im not sure to what level most people on this post trade, but if you dont have any responsability rightnow( family, mortgage etc ) then you better try it now, because in my situstion I support a family on day/swing trading and it adds alot more pressure on you.
Go for trading = freedom...incredible opportunity... Live where you want to live..... Work when you want to work.... Work where you want to work... You are your own boss..... You are as free as it gets.... You don't need college.... You don't need contacts... You need you..... No one can judge you or fire you... This is worth fighting for...
On the sales side brokerage is IMHO a terrible option. Desk trading is also IMHO not a good job. I started out on the CME out of high school and worked there through college - I learned the business. Most of the people that worked as successful independent traders when I was on the floor are still there - either onfloor or off-floor - and are doing well if they choose not to retire. This is the path that I believe offers a decent opportunity. Other people formed or were hired into trading partnerships which were ultimately sold to larger entities for their methodology and customer base. Nearly all of these people came to the Merc out of college with a high percentage of them coming out of University of Chicago. Those that had a decent trading stake worked typically as clerks for at least a year before they got their ticket: if you didn't have the money to fund your trading stake then you worked as a clerk for the people that would ultimately sponsor you and help with your startup costs - many people choose incorrectly here and never got their trading stakes working as clerks for years. My path was to earn my trading stake through working for others and starting successful companies - my trading venture is merely one of these. I still think the best way to get into trading is to work at one of the exchanges either for the exchange or a member firm and learn the business first.
Exactly. Especially if you live on the west coast and the market close at around 1-2pm and you have time to do other things during the second half of the day... 2 months until I start "fighting"...
It occurred to me that maybe the advantage of working in a firm that actually trades is the fact that at least there is a method and discipline. You can also learn from people who have been doing it for a number of years. Emulate good traders. Fade bad ones. If you go into it stone cold, the learning curve is very steep, sort of like reinventing the wheel.
There was no better place to observe and learn than the trading floor during my training period. Today, since many of the top people dont work on floor you probably need to be trained within a firm working off-floor with such individuals - although I still believe there would be great benefit to working on the floor of the Merc, CBOT, or the NYSE.
to the inital poster: One thing no one has mentioned: YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK TO TRADING. If I were you, dont trade unless you have a backup plan. The odds are you will fail. try to buck the odds, but know them. Dont listen to the bravado types on these boards who think anyone making under $150K is a loser. The poster earlier making fun of suits is a jackass. He cant even spell suit, and he misspelled it twice, which shows it wasnt a mistake. Nothing wrong with working a "common" job while you learn. Working at an inv. bank or brokerage can be a good way to get exposure and a decent paycheck. The jobs are hard to get,, but this way you can learn on the side and study the diff. markets without putting up your $$. The main thing is buying time to learn. jumping right in doesnt do that. ALSO: IF SOMEONE WILLING TO TEACH YOU WITH A TRACK RECORD is available, use them. These people are hard to find and are invaluable! good luck