I'm 21 years old, couldn't enter University, planning to trade full-time.

[smallStops]

I might as well join in!
Ok Zenon12: you have a goal, as you stated become rich as defined by you as becoming millionnaire.
Now you have various existing vehicules to get there :
* business : joining one as a partner, starting one, buying one, etc
* trading : here again various options
* job : just so you know some people actually earn more than 1 million bucks a year as employe.
And quiet a good number finish broke.
* property ( this would be in business actually) as you have some capital
You could not qualify for the university system you are in.
You forgot these options : joining the pegre , illegal stuffs and immoral/unethical stuff.
I applaud you for eliminating these options as the risks are extremely high, and the long term returns are
actually negative ( from the life and the descendents of these people).

Few questions: how long have you thought about the choice of the road to "rich" as defined by yourself?
Have you assessed properly your strengths and weaknesses for each endeavour/option?
How do you know you have no other options?
Have you considered the wonders of compounding interests?

Few videos to get you to think

compound interest

 

[wrbtrader]

...But if you withdraw money every month to live on, even from a fund that's killing it at 20% a year like clockwork, you'll go broke in no time at all.

Its a fact that most lottery winners (about 70%) will lose it all within several years along with accumulating more debt than they had prior to winning the lottery mainly because most do not plan for the future. Remarkably, the other 30% that didn't lose their winnings or didn't go broke...they had decided to continue working (many switched jobs into another career more suitable for their lifestyle) or had already retired or were near to retirement and decided to finish the last few years at their jobs.

That's why its a major problem for successful traders. They don't plan for the future. Eventually most of them go broke or have very little to show from their earlier success.

My mom's best friend's daughter won 7 million dollars in the lottery. She bought a million dollar house, two fancy cars and within 3 years she was near broke and looking for a job and still reluctantly (refusing) to sell her dream house.

I've met a few traders making obscene returns during the dot.com days like taking 40k to 5 million in a few years. Most of them lost it all or went broke (crazy lifestyle that couldn't be maintained) after the bubble burst for the dot.com's.

Unlike you, I know a few people (retail traders) averaging 50% per year for 10 years now after starting with like 75k. They ain't rich, they ain't no millionaire...they have a family to support, pay mortgage, pay private health/dental care and have started a pension plan for self-employment and they pay taxes. One of them didn't have proper insurance and recently lost a leg due to diabetes complications...most of this year's profits and last year's profits have gone to pay for his surgery and therapy. He's lucky, he's been profitable now for 8 years and had saved enough to offset the cost of his health problems.

Yet, you will not see them bragging about their consistent profits at a forum and they won't be mentioned in the Wall Street journal as making about 50% per year. Oddly, I only know one of them to have crushing year...I think he made like 125% one year.

If they were single, living at home with mom and pop...parents paying for everything and if you figure out a way to cheat on your taxes. Yeah, they will be millionaires. Simply, if you win the lottery...you better plan for the future or else you'll go broke or have very little to show for it.

Too many retail traders have this grand illusion of getting rich and becoming a millionaire many times over while forgetting that life (living) is expensive and a lot more if something goes wrong with their health or goes wrong with the health of someone they're providing financial support (e.g. a spouse or child).

P.S. Anyone that's like 21 years old and profitable as a retail trader...stay at home with mom & pop and save (compound) your money...tell your parents to continue keeping you on their family health plan. You'll thank me later for that advice.

 

[Laissez Faire]

The fact is that most people won't become traders regardless of their efforts. It's just a dream like becoming a rock star or a movie star. The odds are against you from the start.

Getting a solid degree in school is something most people can achieve with hard work and good assistance.

This does not apply in trading because you can't just work hard, you need to work smart and you're not likely to get any valuable assistance (forget all the people here who will coach you for free).

So, what do you think?

PS: I didn't have any interest in academia myself at your age, but it came later. So taking a year off and thinking about life and what you want to do isn't a bad idea anyway, but I would advise against betting everything on trading.

PPS: You can still pursue trading while doing other stuff like getting an education. Learning to trade is a long-term commitment anyway.

 

[xandman]

Thank you everyone for posting. I would now like to ask that the administrator to close this thread. And, start another thread on: "Cultural Sensitivity".

Unfortunately, none of you understand the incredibly negative stigma of not making it into the University in Singapore. Our young friend, the OP, has since flung himself in front of the TransLink MRT tracks many threads ago.

 

[Gambit]

Thank you everyone for posting. I would now like to ask that the administrator to close this thread. And, start another thread on: "Cultural Sensitivity".

Unfortunately, none of you understand the incredibly negative stigma of not making it into the University in Singapore. Our young friend, the OP, has since flung himself in front of the TransLink MRT tracks many threads ago.

Or maybe he just had his jollies and is off the hawker center for chili crab and a good pale ale?

 

[nvroy]

Thank you everyone for posting. I would now like to ask that the administrator to close this thread. And, start another thread on: "Cultural Sensitivity".

Unfortunately, none of you understand the incredibly negative stigma of not making it into the University in Singapore. Our young friend, the OP, has since flung himself in front of the TransLink MRT tracks many threads ago.

Indeed, not making it to the university is like a death sentence in this uber competitive society. I would encourage OP to try the UOL degree program which is very popular for A levels dropout, this can still open doors for other banking/financial jobs, trading can come later.

 

[VTS]

"I know a few people (retail traders) averaging 50% per year for 10 years now after starting with like 75k."


I hear things like this said a lot, but the problem is, none of those people who claim to have made that or know someone who did can actually PROVE it.

Dude, if someone had a verifiable track record of 50% per year for 10 years, and it was reasonably stable in standard deviation, you could EASILY raise tens or hundreds of millions of investment dollars for a fund. Absolute no brainer.

So to say you know a retail trader that did that is just muddying the waters. If you do, he sure as hell isn't a retail trader anymore. Nobody passes up on hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars in management fees by choice.

They pass up on it because they can't verify their "claimed" success.

Tell your "friends" to audit their accounts and start a fund already...

 

[Vindago]

IMHO: decide what you aim to do as Investing is different from Trading in both risk and reward.

if you decide to trade, do not be in a hurry to make money as YOU WILL NOT MAKE MONEY for quite some time (if ever) but you will very likely lose money.

So take your (screen) time and paper trade for at least a year so to get the feeling of how price moves.

Then when you start making some money consistently on paper trading you can move to trading live but with very little money (1 contract= 100 Stock) until you are again consistent in making money.

At that point you can slowly start to increase the number of contracts you trade and if you are still consistently positive you will start making the good money.

Unfortunately, I am pretty sure you won't do the above as I am pretty sure you will blow out your hard earned money as 99% of traders do when they start...

By the way, do not waste time studying Technical Analysis or most of the available bibliography on trading that is out there as it is all mostly rubbish designed to make you lose money...

 

[Mr. Mark Brown]

op you do not need any education to become a profitable trader.

think of this:

i am going to type to you here how to rebuild a car engine and when finished give you a written test. after you receive a A+ can i expect you to perform the task?

or--

i am going to let you watch me rebuild a car engine in my fully equipped hobby shop and after i'm finished would you have a better understanding of what it really takes to do it yourself?

moral to the above story - find a real trader - go to work for a real trader - expect your pay to be experience gained.

mark brown

 

[wrbtrader]

"I know a few people (retail traders) averaging 50% per year for 10 years now after starting with like 75k."

I hear things like this said a lot, but the problem is, none of those people who claim to have made that or know someone who did can actually PROVE it.

Dude, if someone had a verifiable track record of 50% per year for 10 years, and it was reasonably stable in standard deviation, you could EASILY raise tens or hundreds of millions of investment dollars for a fund. Absolute no brainer.

So to say you know a retail trader that did that is just muddying the waters. If you do, he sure as hell isn't a retail trader anymore. Nobody passes up on hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars in management fees by choice.

They pass up on it because they can't verify their "claimed" success.

Tell your "friends" to audit their accounts and start a fund already...

What's your problem ?

Nobody has to prove anything to you. Seriously, you made statements and I didn't reply that you should prove it.

...I'm way higher than 30% annualized, more than double in fact over the last 10 years, but I'd be lying if I didn't say 2009-2012 helped...

With that said, why would someone be trying to EASILY raise 10s or hundreds of millions of investment dollars to start a fund while spending most of his time recovering from an amputated leg due to diabetes and other related complications.

Seriously, something wrong with you ?

Its simple...not everybody that has money is trying to become a fund manager especially when their background is a retail trader. One has the academic and prior work background as a biologist. Another has the academic and prior work background as a dentist. Another has the academic background of civil engineering (the diabetic and former heavy smoker)...

All of them later became retail traders after making a bundle during the dot.com days and then quitting their jobs.

Lets put it this way, find a fund manager with the above background that did any of the above and then became a retail trader and then became a fund manager after being successful retail trader. I just can't imagine a fund manager taking a route as I've described above about those I know. Seriously, do you know any fund manager that's managing millions of dollars that got a graduate degree in biology ???

You can't because fund managers just don't take the above route in becoming a fund manager and just because a retail trader has success doesn't qualify them to become a fund manager nor does such implies they have the desire to become such. Heck, you stated for fact that you made 30% annualized...during that time period...did you become a fund manager that managing 10s or 100s of millions of dollars for others ?

If you say yes...can you prove it ?

Fact is this, some people just like working for themselves. That's a fact considering 3 out of 10 people are self employed and prefer such. Another fact, most well capitalized retail traders are not trying to become a fund manager. Thus, they just want to work for themselves and not have the responsibility to make money for others when they can just make money for themselves...self-employment. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

P.S. One of my best friends is a successful self-employed architect (with 3 employees) and a successful investor. I guess you're going to suggest he should prove that he's successful at investing because if such was true...he would have become an investment manager.

P.S.S. There's documented stories online of famous fund managers that quit their jobs to trade their own capital (no employees, no longer working for others and no longer responsible to others except to themselves).

Why would they do such if being a fund manager is such a wonderful job in the world of fund managers ?

I'm sure each had their own personal reasons.