Career advice for salaried worker

For me, everything changed when I had made up my mind to quit. I knew the corporate bs would be a thing of the past and started enjoying every day there, in a mocking way. I then held on as long as I could. When I gave my notice, they "talked me off the ledge" and talked me into staying on 3 days per week. They urged me to keep it quiet about what I was offered. It was only a matter of time until my associates figured things out and started hating on me to varying degrees. I traded from home 2 days and from my car on breaks and lunch on my work days. It got to the point where it was costing me money going to the lame ass job.

It's been a year and though I miss some of the folks I worked with, I don't miss the corporate bs. I no longer feel the need to save so much of my income because I love my work trading.
 
The quality of postings is quite refreshing. It was nice to hear the experiences of others: success, loss, exploration. Many of the things I thought or felt were similiar. Thank you.

One thing I should have clarified is that I do have a game plan for when I leave. I've been trading since 16 (mixed results, but in black) and I have a position on the table from an older friend at a proprietary firm. I'm series 7 licensed. Trading is my passion. However, I do not trade at my current position as it's a regulatory mandate. Chinese wall as we call it in the industry. But I'm no stranger to trading with over 100k in equity in an account.

As conveyed earlier, this industry is a vampire in my eyes. 21 months is a drop I'm the bucket compared to some, but I've sacrifaced a lot so far. Relationships, health, sanity. I lost about 27lbs since that time. Really hard to be hungry when your under constant stress. You drink coffee and eat cafeteria food or head onto the streets by the world trade center (which is a horrible spot for lunch/dinner mind you) I use to be much further downtown, but we moved buildings. So with that said, I need a change. I need to get out while I still can because I assure this; if I stay another 6 months I probably won't ever leave.

If the trading doesn't work out fine, I want nothing to do with the industry at that point. If I can help it, I won't ever go back to a position like this, but you can never be sure. People fall on hard times and things change. In this economy I'm taking a gamble and the bet is my job. The payout; freedom. The way I see it is if the economy gets better while I try this out then I will possibly be able to find comparable work in the future. I'll caveat this with the fact that we're on thin ice. If it gets much worse, well, I dont our money will mean much then anyway.

Apologies for any typos. On my BB
 
Quote from TraderZones:

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What would happen if you did NOT come in from 5am to 10 (assuming pm). When people work that many hours, they tend to become very inefficient - long lunches, or talking/chatting a lot to others, etc.

etc.
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He is probably a financial analyst. I know some analysts in major firms work long hours like him . All they do is staring at bloomberg news terminals from morning to late night and repeat the whole thing again next day. It maybe boring but the pay is great.
 
Sounds like a bad economy :) You know, where here on ET, everyone was saying how impossible it is to even get a basic job after sending out 1000s of resumes (where did he go anyways)?

But I digress.

I certainly understand your situation as I have seen people in similar but somewhat lesser situations (working long hours but maybe not that long and maybe not making as much).

You don't really state how much you make or exactly what you do (I didn't read all posts, sorry if I missed). Is there a chance to - str8 out offer to the company that you need to work less hours, for less money - can you take more/any vacation days - can you see other jobs others are doing that are easier/pay less, but you could switch to?

I think sometimes by a person just quitting or something that doesn't accomplish as much as if you had an honest talk with your boss/the company. In fact, I would be willing to bet you told strangers here on ET more then you have ever said to your boss, right?

For all you know, they see you working the long hours, etc. but don't even care about that that much - maybe they just want solid time in and they would be happy to pay less and get that.

This is just some random thoughts and my opinion. I wish you well in any event.

JJacksET4
 
Dude, Im assuming your making over 100k,honestly average traders dont pull much more than that, keep your good job,Id love to slave away at a firm like yours. Im doing the opposite, Im trading while applying to investment banks, and capital arms etc., but no one hiring etc.

I trade and Im up at 7am and finish at 7-9pm depending on the pre and post market activity.
 
Great post, Makloda.

Quote from makloda:

The day I quit my first and only salaried job after university will forever remain in memory. I can perfectly relate to your feelings. I felt burned out after a short 18 months. I thought it was the long hours, later I realized I just wasn't cut out for a corporate career lifestyle. The hours, the schmoozing, the networking, the career-management, the pressure, the stress.

Remember the day when you quit. Remember how you feel, it may be a very unique moment in your life. I was both scared and excited, it was a sunny day, walking out to my car on the final day I had goosebumps. "Is this the right thing to do?" "My god, I burn down all bridges behind me, do I know what the hell I am doing at all?" "So I toiled away at university for 5 years to throw away my first job after 18 months?".

Funny thing is: Once I created my own company I probably worked double the hours at times (all nighters, red eye-weekends with 3 hour sleep etc.) but heck, what a difference it makes when you do something you truly love and are passionate for. It doesn't feel like work. It feels like breathing. And that's the biggest piece of advice I can give anybody. If you want to become self-employed and start a business, then do not look around what area of the economy is now "hot", or where a lot of your friends make a lot of money (selling homes, yachts etc. in 2006). Figure out a field where you are or can become passionate. Where you either are or can become somewhat of an auto-didactic expert. A lot of love for what you're doing (amongst other things) can create the right foundation for a business. A lot of everything else (capital, business plan, nice office etc.) without any passion is (IMO) a recipe for mediocre results.

Marc Veyrat never finished culinary college, he never learned to be a chef, he was fired/quit twice. Yet through a mad-man like passion for food and cooking he created one of the world's most praised restaurants, winning 3 Michelin Stars and 20 out of 20 points in the Gault Millau Guide. Compare this guy with legions of uninspired wanna-be restaurant owners who think dining out is easy money so they start one or two restaurants and quickly go out of business within 24 months, without ever creating a single unique dish.

Good luck.
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Quote from cgeorgan:

Truer words have rarely been spoken. When you find something you love, it almost never feels like work.

Personally, I rarely feel like I'm "working". I'm just doing what I would normally do, except at a different place than my living room.
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only a small percentage of people achieve that - doing something they love for a living.

I was doing consulting for a big-5 from '99 - '05.... loved the work, technical challenges, client interactions and all, but hated the career management part, just couldn't see myself climbing that ladder high enough to worth it..

so I sold the ladder for cash - I went independent, so the work part remains quite the same, for a lot more cash...... was a bit scared when I handed in my resign letter, but it was the best move I ever made.

My advice for the OP - hang in there just to keep the paycheck coming, and meanwhile look around for a career switch..... Being out of the safety net of regular income just sucks, financially and psychologically.
 
I see everyone's points. I really do.
Yes I'm making good money, just under 100k, however break it down per hour and it's really not as relevant anymore. I'm a believer in "you get what you pay for" and the money is well earned with that regard.

I'm not looking to make a ton as a prop trader. My goal would be around $80,000 post tax per year. All speculation of course I could end the year down.

Either way I think i'm going for it. I will be risking about 10% of my savings for this, but if it doesn't work I will explore options outside of finance. If I'm not trading then i'm not interested in finance in general. I pretty much loathed studying this in college. I would be much suited for a pysch major, but money over here was too hard to shy away from and pysch opportunities were paltry.

He'll maybe I'll even become a police officer if non of this pans out. Just know I can't sit in front of multiple screens plugging away at keys all day.
 
Keep us updated. You're not interested in finance yet want to be a psych major, money makes people tick.

Basically you said there's paltry money in psy opportunities, bingo.

No money in psy, finance is boring,, great start to be a police officer, if I can't make money might as well be a prick and restore law and order.
 
Hi there,

I also worked for various bulge brackets albeit for a bit longer than you. I left in the summer of 2007 as I couldn't stand the corporate world any more. Unlike you, I wasn't overworked at the time. I was just totally unmotivated and unhappy.

In my opinion, it sounds like you're a bit tired and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the times. Life on wall str is not easy as you've found out. Perhaps you can ask your boss to work a bit less if possible (don't know if you're on the markets side or ib).

In any case, you need to search within and understand why you're leaving (if at all) and more importantly, what you want out of your "job" and life in general. there is a buddhist (i think)proverb that goes something like "find something that you love doing and you'll never have to work for another day in your life".

Trading is that something for me and it can be for anybody that genuinely has a passion. Otherwise i wouldn't recommend it to anybody. i worked my way up from associate to senior positions at the various firms (some are now gone) and i have never worked as hard in my life as i have for when i started working for myself.

Intuitively then, I would say that you're more tired with your job than anything else. In this case, I would just advise you to exercise restraint and patience. Take a vacation of some kind to clear your mind. Only you will be able to think better.

Good luck.
 
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