I'll put it this way. I don't think there is anything "noble" or heroic about trading. But it is a respectable career, imo, and one that you will only succeed in if you master YOURSELF before the markets (your emotions, your prejudices, your biases, etc.). The market is humbling and a wonder to behold, and as much as I try to be machinelike and dispassionate in my execution, I do really enjoy trading.
What is noble imo is working hard to support yourself and especially your family (if you have one), whether you are a trader, a construction worker, a cop, a teacher, or whatever. puttin bread on the table.
What I love about trading is the democratic nature of it (at least when u are screen trading). The order book does not know if u are male, female, old, young, a PhD or a high school dropout, black, white, atheist, christian, jewish, etc.
you have nobody but yourself to blame if you can;'t make it as a trader . the markets aren't "rigged".
and if u can't, that's fine, but take responsibility for your trades.
I think trading is very humbling in that regards. In many areas of life - politics and certainly the "soft sciences" like political science, philosophy, literature, sociology, etc. - you can stick to your opinion and swim in cognitive dissonance no matter HOW much the world at large doesn't agree with your petty theories, prejudices, biases, ideology, etc. in trading, if you can't admit you are wrong, the market will make it VERY clear to you that you are, by grinding your account down.
the market creates perverse incentives in the short run, but in the long run, the statistics will even out and you will need positive expectancy and sound methodology.
the market is also probabilistic, not deterministic. i don't know if setup X will work. i can know it works 81% of the time, for instance, but once i make the trade, it is out of my hands. everybody's else's actions - the market - will determine the outcome.
again, this teaches a valuable lesson in humility and in the way life is - sometimes you can do everything right, and still have a negative outcome. but, ceteris paribus, do the right thing consistently and you will be rewarded
that's pretty frigging kewl