college and trading career help

Quote from youngtrader:

But how will this make me a better trader shouldn't you leave the programming to the programmers (although I still will never be able to believe that computers can trade better than humans) and the trading and deciphering of emotions in the market to traders. I just think that wants a catastophic disaster happens to the world all of these computers will just go wacko and people will come back to their sences on the whole black box trading thing.

Also does the computer trading and tA apply as well to commodities such as corn or hogs? They seem to be based more on fundamentals then on technicals. How can a computer figure the price which people are willing to buy or sell a bushel of corn or 30,000 pounds of pork?

And would trading in ag products such as grains or livestock require a different degree like an ag business or ag econ degree to learn about the ins and outs or agricultural futures trading? Or would it still require a finance or economics degree?
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Well yes, programming is best left to programmers, but if you can tell programmers what to do in a language they can understand...well you just became a more valuable asset.

Regarding Ag futures, well yes you'll need to be able to interpret price action to trade such instruments... but they are increasingly becoming more electronic as the pits dry out. Once the pits are gone, price action will be reflected on the chart.

If you pick such a niche then a degree related to agriculture will probably help you become a better analyst, just like knowing geology and knowing the inside outs of the mining industry will probably help you analyze metal futures...


I guess it depends very much on which market niche you want to get into.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice everyone you all have been a lot of help. For all of you automated guys though if black box trading is for real will it ever take over the roll completely of the manuel trader like me who relys mainly on market feel through depth of market, volume and charts? If so should I just go with a major in computer science?
 
Regarding the recommendation of getting the CFA designation, keep in mind that it won't necessarily make you a better trader - it is simply the perception that the CFA gives.
 
if u know you want to be a day trader for sure, do not do ur MBA or CFA. its a waste of time and money. if ur day trading doesnt work out, u always have ur bachelor degree to fall back on. one of the things about day trading is independance and being ur own boss. if ur do ur CFA, u will be tempted to workf or a company and thus u will be caught in the corporate crap.
 
Quote from youngtrader:

For all of you automated guys though if black box trading is for real will it ever take over the roll completely of the manuel trader like me who relys mainly on market feel through depth of market, volume and charts? If so should I just go with a major in computer science?
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I don't think the boxes will completely replace traders... simply because someone is got to program that computer, and that someone can be outsmarted...
 
Any education will help incase you find trading isn't for you, or blow up. I on the other hand cant stand shool, and will probably end up joining the military. Good luck in your trading.

cm
 
Quote from ggoyal:

if u know you want to be a day trader for sure, do not do ur MBA or CFA. its a waste of time and money. if ur day trading doesnt work out, u always have ur bachelor degree to fall back on. one of the things about day trading is independance and being ur own boss. if ur do ur CFA, u will be tempted to workf or a company and thus u will be caught in the corporate crap.
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haha...
This is a very intriguing topic, regarding the correlation of CFA charter or a MBA with respect to success in trading.
I am inclined to believe that an undergraduate alone will not do enough in the corporate world to move up the ladder, especially in the financial industry. (open for discussion)
Nevertheless, I strongly agree that doing the CFA program or a completion of a part-time MBA can be a huge distraction to your day-trading. If you are sure and absolutely positive that you will be a day-trader for the rest of your life, no matter how the market changes, how your edge has eroded overtime...then forget about CFA or MBA.

HOWEVER, if you have the CFA charter and/or MBA under your belt. You will be exposed to many other opportunities in the financial industry Even though you do not make it to the trader, your odd of success in the corporate world with a steady pay-check will be high. Moreover, you will gain some insight regarding how the overall market works, but NOTHING about trading is taught in the CFA program.

At such a young age, I will recommend you to try working in different industry, take different courses and gain exposure in networking. Find your passion. If you have passion in what you are doing, no matter what it is, you will still be successful. Do not get obsessed with "trader".
 
Thanks for the advice. But to be honest trading is all I can and ever wanted to do. From a very young age the markets were a household name in our family. I grew up watching CNBC and looking at chart patterns and reading lots of books on the markets. At first I wanted to be a pit trader but I guess I was born just a little to late to have the oppurtunity to trade down in the pits in Chicago. So then I knew I had to learn on the screen if I wanted to be good at trading. The main thing I am worried about is with the growing interest in automated trading. I just hope that the discretionary trader like me who really doesn't have a system but just adjusts for the day will still be able to get a job trading that way and not getting a job watching an automated system all day. I would like to hear peoples oppinion on what percentage of daily volume in financial futures will be automated trading versus manuel trading in the next 20 years.
 
Quote from youngtrader:

Don't people realize that basing you trades off of numbers and automatic programs is useless. Nobody will ever be able to master the markets, they move the way they want to. You need market feel and instinct.
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learning the markets by watching CNBC is like reading about the holocaust in Iran
 
Quote from youngtrader:

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone you all have been a lot of help. For all of you automated guys though if black box trading is for real will it ever take over the roll completely of the manuel trader like me who relys mainly on market feel through depth of market, volume and charts? If so should I just go with a major in computer science?
More...

Admitedly, when I read your first post about the uselessness of Math and Quant degrees for trading I laughed... but after reading some of your later posts I realized that you are genuine and you simply lack some basic knowledge.

My trading is part discretionary and part "systems". The "systems" aspect does not automate anything per se, however it does provide statistical approximations based on historical data, which I decide the utility of.

While I agree that "market feel" is generally non-programmable, certain startegies however are easily programmable.

Profitable, partially automated strategies can be created from for a variety of liquid products. A good way to find and properly use these strategies is to design "white boxes". You'll need a degree in math/stats/cs to understand what a "white box" is as opposed to a "black box". Several people here use these terms incorrectly and out of context. The concepts are crucial to understand if you intend to acheive a higher level in this buisness - with this I mean truly understanding how derivatives work - mathemtically and fundamentally.

I say the above such that you realize how much there is to learn. I've been in this buisness since 1996 and every few months I learn something new that completly changes the way I think about trading/finance.

BTW, academic degrees matter VERY MUCH. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise and please please please IGNORE the people who tell you that you can make it without a good set of degrees - the truth is you can, however, the doors that will be open to you with a few good degrees under your belt are bigger and better than anything you can imagine at this point. With that in mind get an M.S. in Engineering or Finance and then got to get an MBA.

Mike
 
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