Yeah I am with you there, one thing that bothers me about the Humane Society is that they are VERY aggressive with asking for donations.....when I got married that is what we decided to do, give donations to the Humane Society in lieu of dumb ass wedding favors to the guests.... We started getting things in the mail and email asking for more and more money. lol I like the concept of helping out, but I see your point, and actually plan on looking for better places to spend my donation money. I have a soft spot for animals because the things that happen to them aren't their fault, animals and kids get my attention more than anything else as far as where I want to help.... I recently adopted a stray pit bull/boston terrier mix (ugly son of a bitch *whew boy* let me tell you ha ha), that makes dog #3 for me...But he was starved and covered in fleas and just beat down. Couldn't help it, I scooped him up from craigslist and got him back in action running around living the good life. ha ha The woman we got him from said she tried to turn him in to a shelter to see if the owners would come looking for him and they told her they were going to put him to sleep because he was a pit and was sick. ... Sorry to go off on a tangent, but yeah it's good to hear that from you man. That's awesome.
Just get a degree and stop dreaming about making millions from trading. The way you make millions is managing OPM, for that you need a degree. At 20, I also said I didn't need a degree, I have no regret, my life has been interesting and having no degree forces you to think and be creative but it's tough financially when you want or have to go do something else. Don't think because you make money today it will always be the case. It won't be that way, it isn't for anyone even the best (i.e. star hedge fund managers) The reality is ET is hazardous to your money because all you have here is a bunch of newbies with beginner's luck, deluding struggling traders always thinking they are onto something and promoters of all sorts. and read this http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110943
When the author is done, I'll let you know. For timbo however, he cant read or understand to well. Publishing a book and writing a book are too different things...
At age 26, I did what I had to do to grab a specific market share. However, in my business there is such a dominance of the old vs the young, it continues. The young are making inroads, but not as heavily as you might want. So far as Gen X.... Instead or racism, they are learning classism.
warning; lengthy reply here. ignore if you couldn't care about my history. as ppl above have said - college degree is necessary to get into most decent places, because they want to cover their butts. i'd recommend it for everyone; if you want to stand out more, go to a small(er) school. you'll have more interaction with ppl your age, you won't disappear as much, and the weekend football game won't be the be-all/end-all to life. before college - sold baseball cards @flea markets and card shows periodically for 8 years. college - went straight through for masters in mgt, played one varsity sport, was active on campus. had two outstanding teachers, one was like 3rd in charge of a major company, who i learned a ton from academically and in ways i could use outside of class. worked @startup for 1 yr. laid off when money tight. started new job a few weeks later at a major international bank as a documentation person and techie for small trading (fixed income derivatives) floor. was hired (important part) BECAUSE OF MY COLLEGE - my boss liked the school's (non-ivy league) rep, sent the info. there, and my background / ppl skills seemed a good fit. worked there for 6 years, through a merger. initially loved it, but ppl moved on, new bosses promised promotions / raises / opportunities that never happened...at the time, i was trading from work for about a year? never letting it affect my job. also, one of my jobs was now supporting all data for (non-equity) traders. this was '99. they started saying i (only) couldn't use pc or phone (!) for ANYTHING outside of direct work (despite traders telling my bosses i did an 'outstanding' job and one of my bosses admitting to me that my job performance was outstanding; i actually would phone in trade orders on my lunch break), i wanted to work one more year to raise more capital for myself, but couldn't take the pressure. i left. i also had two side-projects during that time. it's now been 8 years of trading - almost all daytrading equities which aren't huge - from home for my own account. my best years were NOT '99/00/01, but have occurred after that. wife and i had a tight budget when she was in grad school / i was on my own and eking out a small living. she still works, we have kids, i'm doing fine. not making millions, but 99% of the world would love to be in my shoes. i won't take OPM because i have no reason to; i feel minimal pressure with *my* money, but tons with other people's. her job provides the benefits, which are hugely important, esp. with kids. and i have no need / desire to take up outside trading-related jobs; writing for a publication, marketing myself, etc. no one knows who i am, and that's fine with me. and now? i still stay in touch with a few traders / back office /middle office ppl (as well as my first boss - the one who hired me, who was great) from the financial job. went out the other night with one of them (trader) for dinner, he's proud / excited about how well i'm doing. and he helped me out years ago when i showed the skills, but didn't have enough discipline, by some words of confidence that he likely doesn't remember today. IF I HAD TO GO BACK TO THE WORK FORCE AS A TECHIE/DOCS PERSON...it wouldn't be hard (other than re-learning the requisite / current skills). i thought a few times i'd have to (because of not maintaining discipline while trading)...but friends from college who i stay in touch with are at various financial institutions, as well as ppl from my old job. the thing is, once you get your foot in the door of the financial places, you can usually move around pretty easily. it's just getting the foot in the door. and, outside of the former chop-shops, it's nearly impossible to get hired without a college degree. i'm also a big proponent of having a fall-back plan just in case, but always trying hard to reach your CURRENT goal. and the college degree provides support in case you fail on your own. so, to summarize: -> you CAN trade without a college degree. that's no problem. -> you can't get HIRED at most non-prop firms without one. and depending on the school / environment, some classes and contacts you make there, alumni network, etc. are invaluable.
DON'T BE A FOOL W-N-B!!!!!!! You have 3 years done, 1 to go. Do not be lulled into a false sense of possibilities presented by the few on this thread. No matter HOW successful some may be without the degree, HAVING a college degree will always be better than NOT having a college degree. With it, if you fail as a trader you can ALWAYS go get the dreaded J-O-B. But at least you will have the backup plan in place. These people telling you to "F#@$ college" are telling you to make the number one mistake of trading when it comes to your "life plan" - they are telling you to trade without a stop-loss for your future. You are young, finish the degree - the markets will always be there. You can trade on the side, but finish that degree!!!!!!!! If you DON'T, you may regret it for the rest of your life. I have a relative that stopped 1 semester short of finishing a bachelor's degree. This one act has haunted him his entire life for the last 19 years. He is SHUT OUT from the good paying jobs. IF you think you will ever desire to get a job some day, then re-read Corey and Cutten. They are telling you the way the world works. You don't have to agree with it. But if you EVER want to play the game of corporate america or high paying jobs, THOSE ARE THE RULES. Look at any job postings lately? The 6 figure jobs, and I'm talking all the way up to the 7 figure jobs, ALL require a Bachelors as a minimum, most an MBA and/or CFA too. Repeating others comments, but the statistics prove out - the college degree is the bare minimum ticket to high paying jobs. I hope you take the advice from those in the Real World. Good luck!
omg this is my first time coming here and this is the first thread I stumbled upon and Reaver's first post speaks truth! You give me inspiration man.
A university degree is a great thing to have to fall back on, in uncertain times. It's the new H.S. diploma. I went to a university for two years and then quit because 1) I wasn't doing well 2) I didn't like it there and didn't like what I was doing. I moved out to California and started working there. Eventually I found a job where I started earning 40k and then 50k, although it involved a LOT of overtime work and busting my balls. The job market for people without degrees is completely barren otherwise, and how will you raise capital for trading without earning it first? I tucked my ego back into my sleeve and went back to the university.
Many very good posts in this thread. Having a four year degree, I can attest that it has certainly helped me get some jobs that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to obtain. With that said, I feel like I learned very little while in college that is actually pertinent to my career in sales. I have benefited however from some relationships that were a result of college. I certainly am glad to have my degree and wouldn't give it back, but I also know way too many highly successful people that have no higher education. My father is a very successful business owner that barely graduated HS. I really like Reaver's 70/20/10 breakdown. I think college or not, that seems very accurate im my experience. I actually believe the military is probably a better way to prepare for your working life if you're in a non-specialized field than college.