Quote from hazardfish:
"I'm an MBA student in a school with a good Finance program. I like trading. It's never easier to know if you're right or wrong, requires significant discipline and a strong mind."
With an MBA, why if it's worth the paper it's written on would you need an internship and more schooling? Not to offend, but cut the crud, who cares if your an MBA, maybe wallstreet might, but in the real world, plenty of MBA's etc blow up. Because school isn't about finding your own way, it does not teach independant thought. It teaches you to be a good follower and believe your piece of paper will be the ticket. In my experience people with too much education rely on it too much. And most students, don't realize their education was only to tell the world then can learn, and they at this point know nothing of how the world works yet.
If your applying for the wall street jobs etc, they put some credence in it. But reality is can you learn on your own?
Most educated types think trading is just something you get taught and you make lots of money. That's not how it works, most fail, and many are average at best with mediocre incomes, until they realize that what any firm teaches you is just basics, and the real learning comes on your part. No education system in the world can prepare you to make money in trading.
If your not making money now, the first thing you shouldn't do is say your busy with school or you don't have the time, those are cop outs. Your strategy is a bust, and way too risky.
Options, though many say are safe, can be if properly used, unfortunately for most, it's too easy to get to large a position, and continually blow yourself up.
Trading is not emotional, despite what most here will tell you. And it's not about discipline either.
It's about having a proven strategy that works consistently enough that you have the confidence in to make the trade and stop in the first place. Your emotions are neutralized when you have confidence in your strategy, because you know that sure one in two or three might be a winner, but they will more than make up for the stops.
As an example, when Kobi Bryant does a turn around jumper from outside the arch, why does he take that shot? No coach would ever teach that shot, or tell a player to try that, yet Kobe does it over and over again. Because he has practiced that strategy, and he knows with a degree of confidence that he will make it. So even after several misses, his confidence remains the same.
When emotions get involved, shows you have lost control of the trade, and you now don't know or trust the reason you got in the trade in the first place, so now you fall on other types of reason, like maybe my support number was wrong, but the next big number will hold forsure!) Yeah that's it.
When this happens, I suggest anayzing that trade and stop and see what might improve the trade, perhaps the trade was a correct assumption, but just didn't work, and then you didn't take your stop.
I suggest with all that brain power, you read every book out there, and start analyzing strategies and reflect on your understanding of those strategies, and try to find "one" that is sound and simple enough to repeat over and over again.
And I did say One strategy, nobody needs twenty strategies, one will do.
The most work in trading is the constant self assesment, there is no teacher going to grade your paper, or pass you, it's up to you now, whether your with a firm, or on your own to constantly self assess your trading style, execution and knowledge base. And you mentioned profits are the sign of failure or not, this is unfortunately not the case. You may have a good strategy, yet your execution may be bad. And if in fact your strategy is bad, you should by all accounts with all that brain power realize that any Business strategy should be accounted at the end of the day or month to know if you are throwing good money after bad.
That is why I personally would not hire an MBA as a trader, rather I would take the young entrprenurial type, because MBA's have been taught that the curriculum, the system of education and the pass/failure means you will be a success or not, when in reality it only means you are a follower.
The education part of any training is similar to anything you can find in any book, read a dozen or two, and you will probably know more than your trainer, but can you make money? And most trainers are not good traders, they enjoy teaching, if they were good traders, why on earth would they waste their time teaching?
Teaching as a rule, in my book is for those who can't! So don't count on these clowns, who probably make less than your mechanic most times.
Unhinge yourself from your thinking this is something you can count on others for. There is no white knight, this is all you man..
And if you wonder why I ramble on this whole MBA thing, I am a high school drop out, and I make more money a year than all my MBA and graduate freinds put together, but the illusion that I am lucky or other in their minds remains, because in their minds how can I be making 10 times what they make a year! They just don't get it!
Good luck, my intentions are not to offend, only to enlighten.
