Hey guys, I'm just curious to hear from the ET members how they got to where they are today in their trading/investment career? Any rags to riches stories out there? All so, to some of the professionals/money managers out there , what steps did it take for you to get where you are? eg... -What were the subjects you studied your senior year in High School? -What did you study at College/University? -What was your first job? And which subjects do you feel were instrumental in your development in your career? Just interested to see how everyone ended up coming down this path and I'm sure many out there are interested also. Cheers Benji
Highschool is a joke. College: java derivatives pricing applied statistics /probability all calculus data structures /collections portfolio management mathematical economics stick to heavy quantitative/mathematical and it shouldn't be difficult to land a good first job ($70k+) Or go study actuarial science (i should have done this myself) and study a OOP language on the side.
" what steps did you guys take to get where you are today"? Good question The answer: if we are traders, a bunch of backwards steps. Why do you ask? Do you like walking backwards, being broke, doing all sorts of scams just to pay off a margin call? You like sleeping with ugly fat girls and have to act like you like them just so they give you 5 grand to trade with? What about doing gross things to old ladies just so they cut you a check for 7 grand so you can begin trading again with your new system? That smell will never leave your hands my friend. Is that what you want!
Haha nothing wrong with fats girls , shade in the summer , warmth in the winter ... plus 5 grand to trade with??? put a ring on that finger
Currently at the start of my career... 2 years in... To become consistently profitable I did the following: > LONG HOURS: I first started with 8-hour days in the prop shop. This wasn't enough, so I bumped it to 12-14 hour days. After about 9-months of this, I soon figured this too wasn't enough to achieve the most success and be the absolute Best. So now I comfortably sit with a shift from 8:30am to about 3am. It's about 18-hours a day that I'm on watch. Monday to Saturday morning (I don't live in the U.S.A or Europe). I also have an app on my phone which lets me control my home computer. I'm at the gym 3-4 times on the weekdays during midday so if I am in a slow-trade I still watch it from there. There's no relaxing at night or going out and enjoying yourself during the week, but that's the sacrifice I am willing to make just to get ahead. (Note: The biggest and the best traders at my firm have multiple guys whom they PAY to watch their positions/markets for them while they sleep. I can't afford this yet, so I have to do the grind.) > JOURNAL: The journal was one of the best things I started doing, and I still apply it very well. I use the journal to review months, review weeks, and I always make a log after a big loss. You must write: 1. What your weakness was, and what went wrong 2. (Most important) What is your IMMEDIATE change and plan to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future Every once in a while I will start slumping, so what I do is go through my previous 3-5 months of results and I write down, in detail, the worst trades that affected my PNL and I analyzed them. And then, of course, I re-write a plan for the future to re-tweak things (its usually simple such as making a rule where if I go down 2-days worth of wins, then I will work the session back towards a scratch immediately and stop being loose). > TALKING TO OTHER TRADERS: There are many people at my firm who are a lot better at trading than me. I am constantly asking them questions about their execution, their process, what they look for, what they did in certain scenarios, how they're going for the day etc. You eventually know who trades well and who doesn't. Who follows the fundamentals versus who is just in it for the brokerage/rebates game? Follow the fundamentals. Also, when new trainees enter the firm, I always make an effort to get new friends and talk to people. Always approach with a humble attitude, you'll be surprised how much info other people know. I have learnt a lot of new things from talking to new guys. Many of whom have been at other prop shops, and were taught different styles, and have friends who taught them different things. Sometimes you may discover new products, new ways of thinking etc. Summary: I didn't wanna bore you guys with more so I just listed the 3 main important things that I personally do and that I can attribute 100% certainty that it benefits my trading and helps me progress more aggressively. It's probably important to mention again that these things I do are a by-product of having lots of passion, motivation and ambitious drive to succeed at the competitive game of trading. I'm happy to answer any more q's as well !
Dude, you know the score! I actually knew someone who was banging an older lady who then let him handle her trading account.
Oh crap, i just about died laughing after reading the last two comments. hahaha, good one. Damn, you sound like you got some experience there buddy. hahahahahahahah. ET, now i know why i still play around with this site. Gotta love it.
Hey Sommi, thanks for the write up. Your two years in and already profitable, i would say thats excellent. Sounds like the time at the prob has cut down on your learning curve alot. So how do you deal with adding size? Has that been an issue for you, yet?