Would you rather trade on your own making 100k yr or trade for a firm making 500k yr

Discussion in 'Professional Trading' started by discrat, Nov 11, 2006.

  1. This is mine.

    www.etch-a-sketch.com

    come on fella's lets bury the hatchet...

    This is an anonymous internet board...






     
    #21     Nov 12, 2006
  2. Drew07

    Drew07

    #22     Nov 12, 2006
  3. discrat

    discrat

    Quote :
    " the other side of equation is not just $500k.

    consider this:

    -- you might have to move to NY or Chicago.
    -- hassle in commute to the office
    -- office politics
    -- targets to meet. not just annual target, but quarterly, monthly, weekly, uetc. There is no let up to pressure from your section head. Everybody is watching you and your P/L.
    -- to make $500k for yourself, you have to carry a B-I-G load of leverage. It is OPM, but it is still money, and believe me, you can feel the stress.
    -- you have to explain everything you do. If you have a down quarter, or slightly off month, the boss will be calling you to the office and ask you why. They want to know everything about you, your marital situation, your bowel movement, etc. Afterall, they have to cover their behind too, just in case you fail. (now you know why a lot of the big house traders don't last past their 30th birthday.)

    oh well, there is Wall street glamour, and there is a dark side to it too.

    granted, being on your own is not easy. Loneliness and boredom does affect you. You have to develop and build your net work of peer support, so that you don't go brain dead in the middle of the day. "
    Unquote





    Bingo......Houston we have a winner !!
    Nothing beats this. Complete freedom cannot be measured by any amount of money ! PERIOD. Particularly when you can live comfortably with a satisfying income level.

    Some of you say it must get boring during the day with my life and career ? Thats laughable . When my swing trading stops are in place I am headed out kayaking or playing disc golf !! OR going with my fiance to the matinee show at the movies. Doing Meals on wheels and other stuff. . And thats nearly everyday for at least two to three hours. Sometimes much more. And none of this scalping BS with your eyes clued to the screen all day. Scalpers are just people who weren't smart enough to figure swing trading out. IMO

    When I wake up I walk three steps to my office which is my lazyboy recliner in front of my JVC big screen. :cool:

    Hows that compared to commuting to the big apple everyday amongst those tens of thousands of rat racers each and every f@cking day !! Thanks but no thanks.

    Remember, you cant take it with you when the grim reaper comes. And he will come !! Trust me

    Fortunately ,I am still relatively young to have age on my side but unfortunately old enough to have worked 9 years for the "man" bound by the chains making big money!!

    And after going thru this, Ill go ahead and take my 60k to 80k stress free independent life while you economic slaves duke it out with each other all the way to the grave. :eek:
     
    #23     Nov 12, 2006
  4. Mine is blue...thats picture is it! (I just put a new starter in mine...cost only 279 bucks...my insurance is 26 bucks a month and I drive only 2k miles per year...I bought this minivan for 2k used 7 or 8 years ago from a private party in the newspaper...there has been 2 fuel pumps replaced and a fuel rod assembly, radiator and this starter last week) I run Goodyear tires on it that are twice the value of the the entire vehicle. Automatic Transmission works still, but I am afraid I will need another car within 2 years...I know this old car and she is on her last legs...she overheats too easy...(I don't want to spend the money for a compression check)


     
    #24     Nov 12, 2006
  5. LMAO! how true that is...
     
    #25     Nov 12, 2006
  6. It's a personal choice thing if you ask me. I net a bit more than that annually with my trading. I've been trading my own portfolio now for over 17 years (the first six saw me basically break even too). It pays the bills and has a low stress factor. I have no trouble keeping focused in my own environment either.

    Trading augmented with my few other ventures and some real estate, has found me a rather comfortable living platform. Patience tells me that if I don't seek the immediate maximum ego climb game and stay conservative, 20 years from now I should be ok. :)
     
    #26     Nov 12, 2006
  7. side stepping all the person bashing on this thread...of which i am happy not be part of.....i will toss in my 2 cents...which usually isnt worth half of that but.....

    if i was sittin at home makin 100k a year as a trader and had the chance to go to a large firm to make 500k.....i leave in a heartbeat......not for the money.....but for the experience....if i can 100k at home by myself...just think how much i could make after a year or two workin at a large firm and actually seeing how market makers make markets. A person can always go back to trading at home...how often you gonna have the chance to trade for a huge firm???

    take it and learn from it...then go back to tradin in your 2 day-old gotch, unshavin face starin at the picture of pamela anderson that you use for inspiration every morning and make 250k a year! :)
     
    #27     Nov 12, 2006
  8. I trade one financial future (HSI). If it ever got boring I could switch to or add the Nikkei or SPI.

    Its open for 4.5 hours a day (2 hour lunch). I trade 4.2 hours because I knock off early for the news and a beer. Maybe 10 trades in that time.

    Commute = 0 minutes.
    Location = Tropical Queensland, Waterfront, Great fishing, diving, tennis, entertainment etc.
    Preparation = 10-20 minutes a day.

    Even if I could only make 100k a year I would still choose that over 500k in a big city with pollution, crime, and a commute. But that's what suits me - someone else might think they can become a better trader with a big house and want to pursue that dream. I get to live mine. Cheers to both groups :)
     
    #28     Nov 12, 2006
  9. People have made some solid points on both sides of this thread, but the arguments about freedom are particularly persuasive.

    Think about how much or how little freedom you have now. Does your work allow you to live where you want - whether that be Queensland, Oslo or Arkansas? Is commuting to work a hassle for you or something you don't mind? Can you take holidays from work when you want and do you have enough time off each year? Can you deal with office politics without getting stressed? What about coworkers - are they great people or are there enough idiots around to make your professional life unnecessarily difficult? Are your working hours reasonable or do you leave home before your family is up and get home when the kids are already in bed? Freedom from having to worry about the above factors would be really something for me.

    If I trade full-time one day I doubt that I'll ever make as much as I do in my current job. But if I were confident that I could consistently earn a quarter of what I take home now I would hand in my notice tomorrow. I'm not there yet, obviously :D

    Suss
     
    #29     Nov 12, 2006
  10. Tums

    Tums

    if you can make 100k on your own, there is nothing you can learn from a big firm.

    the only reason they would offer you 500k is so that they can pick your brain.

    p.s. if you can make 100k on your own, you can make 500k on your own. It is only a matter of time for the leverage to reach that level.
     
    #30     Nov 12, 2006