Well the way i see it, most traders will lose in a year or less, and they will lose more than 5k, so I figure, spend 5k learning from someone in the business with no guarantee of being successful rather than "spending" 5k to learn to trade from the ground up by yourself. - nate
You have to realize that you asked a wide variety of traders. For a seasoned pro the answer is obviously a no. For a complete newbie it could be a yes or maybe. Now if you had asked this way: Let's suppose you are a newbie to trading and 20 years old. Would you pay someone 5 grand who is promising you this and this....? that would have been different. The offer sounds too good to be true, honestly... Here is another idea. Try out both versions. First try it on your own: papertrades and selfeducation, then blow a few grands on actual trading. There is a chance you can make it. If you didn't, you can still go back and pay the mentor as a last resort. At least by then you will know what to ask and will have a little experience...
Your "What IF" scenario is totally unrealistic. The only type of person who would provided the detailed help you are describing for only $5000 would be a salesman/felon/con artist. NOT a real trader. Real traders like Brian Gelber http://www.gelbergroup.com/management.htm start a prop shop and get a cut of your profits. You remember the "Russian" who dominated the Emini S&P for a couple of years. Brian Gelber got between 30-50% of his profits which was well above 8 figures!!!!
Ah, but there's the rub. As an aside, there are so many of these clip joints around that they have almost become "commoditized." I expect some to soon offer levitation training as a bonus in order to differentiate themselves from one another. Available verification will be limited to a sampling of testimonials. Operators are standing by (one of whom is reported to be levitating according to 3rd party accounts).
You could learn most of the skills needed for free if you apply yourself and are in the right environment. I cannot see why anyone would work a whole year on you as a newbie for $5k. Newbies do not have to lose more than $5k in a year so this is not cheaper. A newbie loses as much as they want to lose because they control how much capital they put in. With so much information out there, it does not make sense to plop $5k on these mentor/guru programs.
i would argue that if a trader could actually get a good mentor who was a money maker for $5000 it would be the best investment they could make to shorten the learning curve.
A mentor that charges $5,000? Most good mentors I heard of were fellow traders within the same firm as the person looking to be mentored. Someone chargin $5,000 in most cases is selling a seminar or chatroom (TI) and is a self-proclaimed mentor. I would be suspicious of someone who OFFERS to mentor for cash. Mentorships develop from a relationship and give and take in most cases, not a business transaction.
Admittedly, you are speaking in the hypothetical and, as per your previous post, based on proper verification. In that context, your point is valid. However, you will note that the 5th word in your post is "if." As it happens, "if" is also the middle word of "life." (Pardon the profundity. )