So the chronology of events from this thread is:
Dec 2016 fired
April 2017 hired
October 2017 fired
Two jobs in less than one year.
I was last employed sometime in the 1980’s. Since then I have run my own businesses, invested long term, and traded short term. There have been lean times and there have been plentiful times, but there has never been “a rug pulled out from under my feet” time.
Sounds like you need very basic financial planning as a baby step. You mention a wife, but no mention of children. Although you did use the phrase “taking care of my family”, but that could include an elderly parent, a sibling with a medical condition, or just some person in difficulty that you commit to assisting (good on you).
So if you drop dead right now, how does your family survive? In general I hate insurance, but I do see value in five year term life insurance for a “bread-winner” with a family. (I’m so old, no one will be inconvenienced. The not-seen relatives will be cheering and licking their chops when I kick-off. Little do they know it is all going to the Buddhist Society of Western Australia.)
What’s up with your retirement planning?
Suppose you are only crippled from a stroke and do not die, so there is no life insurance or car insurance (had it been a collision), how does your family survive?
What about health insurance? I am told that for Americans that can be a literal killer.
Is your wife independently wealthy from her own employment, assets, family? That certainly changes your risk profile.
(see I did it again; I made the post about you, when I mean it as general information since I know nothing about you, please replace the above words “you” and “your” with the phrases “a person” and “a person’s”.)
(also you may have a very comprehensive financial plan already in place, I do not know one way or the other, please do not take offense from my lack of information, I genuinely intend the best for you and your family)
(this non-offensive writing take a lot of work, I must be a truly offensive person, chatting in a pub with a mate over a pint is so much easier, especially if they are a Geordie)
Without “a person” getting “their” foundational financial affairs in order, “their” psychology during trading will be effected. When I trade I have no emotional response to a win or a loss, its just another trade out of thousands. If I knew that the trade affected the food my family would eat that week, then I would have an emotional response that would limit my profits. At the end of the day I autopsy my trades, the goal being to see if the results of my strategy are still within expected values, and where I created deviations from the strategy to understand why so they are not repeated. Sometimes I let a small amount of emotion creep in at that time. Like yesterday, when I made profit but left lots on the table due to deviating from The Plan.
As far as an opinion on whether you should take another job, or go into the consulting field, perhaps there are people closer to you, with more detailed information about your situation, than strangers on an internet forum.
For example, is there a consulting job that you could start immediately, or do you have to go out and find a contract? How will you find the 17th contract? Is the work so plentiful and the pool of talent so small that work falls into your lap with a queue of offers? Frequently technology people are poor at marketing and selling since they are not people orientated (even among the FANG’s the founders were not known for their people skills and they hired the talent to fill in where they were weak). I doubt anyone here knows this level of personal information about you.
My suggestion is to find a trusted friend or relative, that you respect, and have private conversation, where all the details get disclosed (to them alone) about your choices and situation. Be clear upfront, that you want their truthful opinion and not a varnished version designed to make you feel better in light of just being fired. If you do not have such a trusted friend then that is also a piece of information to consider. Then review that conversation (or the inability to have it) with your wife.
You may also want to consider and define what would make you happy. Most people simply head for the largest $ £ ¥ € and live a miserable existence as a consequence. You and your wife could turn this small window of time into a great opportunity to plan the rest of your life in a comprehensive manner that leads to joy rather than money. Certainly, in most societies, money is a component, but not as much as most people think. The Apprentice UK started last week, to watch a group of 18 young boot-lickers trying to give Lord Sugar a hand job is both funny, and a reminder; to focus on the important to the individual and not the artificial desire of the masses.
I made a choice to live in a remote area on a lake, lots of land, lots of peace, rarely see people. It’s a 45 minutes drive to get a quart of milk, in the winter the road can become impassable, so its not for everyone. I also happen to be addicted to trading for 50+ years so I still do it for the joy of trading. More money than I need accumulates in my account therefore I meet some definition of rich (expenses<income). By the standards bandied about on trading forums, I am but a pauper.
Ultimately you have to make a decision for yourself. Take on board information, decide and then get on with it.
Final comment: Earlier in this thread it was suggested that you increase the size of your trades as a way to make more money. Please do a risk of ruin calculation before implementing such a strategy. I have no idea as to the percentage of your account that you risk per trade, but there does come a tipping point where the size of the trade compared to the frequency of loss, or losing percentage, creates a certainty of losing the entire account. If you have already done this and are well aware of RoR, I did not mean to offend, only provide a suggestion since I do not know your level of expertise.
I have tried to make this post offensive free, but through inadvertence may not have succeeded. If any reader is offended then ….. ( ok, best I delete that).
