Advice for an Old Man’s Son

[destriero]

I am not a trader. Just a grizzled old guy looking to help my son get a shot at being like you guys.

He just turned 27 and seeing the writing on the company wall, he told me had to go independent and was reading everything he can get and putting away his cash to trade and invest. Even selling his house, downsizing, cutting expense to the bone. Hard worker. Computer savvy. Good kid, just unfortunately born on the wrong side of the tracks.

My question for those of you that remember starting with nothing:

If you had one piece of advice or route to try that would help get a working toenail in this game, what would it be?

Thank you!

OldDad

He's got a better shot at owning a successful restaurant. Failure rate in this biz is greater than 90%.

 

[nooby_mcnoob]

Yeah my thoughts were he should be planning to buy more real estate not selling what he has just so he can gamble on a trading career.

The situation could be even worse than you describe. The economy is still good, if laid off now there is good chance he could find an even better job elsewhere. But things might not be so good in 12 or 24 months time.

So he could be in the situation of no house, no job, lost all money trading and also in the middle of a nasty recession where new job hiring is frozen or competing against 1000 other guys for each role .

What a great idea to suggest more real estate.

 

[SimpleMeLike]

He's got a better shot at owning a successful restaurant. Failure rate in this biz is greater than 90%.

destriero,

If failure rate is so high, then why do people trade?

My answer is, trading offers more than just money, it offers freedom and Time and passion and adventure to do what a person wants to do daily with low overhead cost.

 

[destriero]

destriero,

If failure rate is so high, then why do people trade?

My answer is, trading offers more than just money, it offers freedom and Time and passion and adventure to do what a person wants to do daily with low overhead cost.

Dunning Kruger. The average trader on this board operates at a loss or earns less than minimum wage based upon their hours committed. Sure, it's a great lifestyle, but only if you're covering your nut.

 

[destriero]

destriero,

If failure rate is so high, then why do people trade?

Why do people become restaurateurs?

 

[southall]

The average trader on this board operates at a loss or earns less than minimum wage based upon their hours committed.

Hobbies tend to cost time and money.
Most 'traders' on forums never get passed being hobbyists.

 

[taowave]

If he loves trading,why not go to every Investment Bank,Hedge Fund,headhunter and take any job on a trading desk....

I know times are different than when I broke in,but if you can get your foot in the door,you are halfway home.

 

[cornerstone]

I am not a trader. Just a grizzled old guy looking to help my son get a shot at being like you guys.

He just turned 27 and seeing the writing on the company wall, he told me had to go independent and was reading everything he can get and putting away his cash to trade and invest. Even selling his house, downsizing, cutting expense to the bone. Hard worker. Computer savvy. Good kid, just unfortunately born on the wrong side of the tracks.

My question for those of you that remember starting with nothing:

If you had one piece of advice or route to try that would help get a working toenail in this game, what would it be?

Thank you!

OldDad

check out J trader is my tip. then study hard, especially mental behavior in the market, and use Bookmap to get a supplemental of conviction

 

[Turveyd]

Just spend his money, then he'll be poor like 99% of us and you'll be happy

It's hard work trying to get to the 1% and everytime you think it's cracked something changes or goes wrong or they ban day trading ( 18years ago, which killed me pretty much trading wise )

 

[ironchef]

You guys need to understand that there is an IQ threshold involved in this.

The statistics are being derived under the assumption that the entire population has the same chances of success. In other words, they are assuming total bullshit.**

**(that success likelihood is a parameter, and that it is independent of tons of shit.)

In STATS jargon, they are sampling from a mixed population and assuming performance outcomes are independent of individual features of that population (because it makes the data easier to deal with).

This would be like randomly sampling peoples bench press max and not differentiating between men and women!

Trading attracts the unqualified because there is money in it.

It also attracts the truly gifted for the same reason.

In other words, general population is being induced (via financial incentive) to participate.

But general population never had a chance.

The truly gifted will succeed in life, it's just a matter of how much success they will achieve.

With trading the upside potential is HUGE.

Six figures sounds good on paper (and even statistically, in terms of household income distribution) but successful traders can make money at rates orders of magnitude above hourly wages.

The site is called elite trader because that's what you have to be to succeed in trading.

It's just like math jocks in Ivy League schools teach themselves measure theory, topology, and number theory so that they can ace exams and break the grading curve.

Competitive drive is an innate feature in some people. You know what I'm talking about. Kids that win programming competitions, math olympiad, or perfect SAT's.

Trading is one of the hardest challenges there is. It takes more than luck. This is the problem with your 99% fail statistic. The statistics assume that it's just luck who wins and loses. (that's how losers think)

Let me quote @murray t turtle:

The smarter you are, the longer it takes.

So for those of us with average/below average IQ, there is still hope.