xchamp - i left a trading house (as a techie) way back when to trade on my own. some thoughts:
first, i didn't burn bridges. i knew i was GOING to leave - and was at the age in my life where i had to do it now, rather than later. if you're 50, leaving is much riskier than leaving at 25 or 30.
i had lots of connections elsewhere on the street. if i failed at trading, i could go back and get a new techie job. i'm sure you know this, but once you get your foot in on wall street, are competent/can work well under pressure and don't have a negative stigma attached to you, it's relatively easy to get through the interview process elsewhere on the street.
my strategy also is NOT scalable to huge amounts of capital for a bank. however, it does work nicely for me. there are days/weeks where i trade minimally. there are also days where i can't leave my chair. i'm sure you know that already.
i have a good friend who is trading on a desk (15+ years). i told him that i couldn't imagine the stress of trading to make your bonus / make 10mm for them to get a % of it; he told me he couldn't imagine the stress of trading your own money. can you handle that stress, if you lose (whatever amount) you're ok with it?
initially, i traded better when i worked at my techie job because i didn't have the pressure of trading being my only income; are you ok with that?
i also had to take some time to determine my optimal timeframes for trading. they were different than those when i traded with my techie job, you might want to account for that.
by the way, if you're successfully trading on the street (nyc? chicago? london?), remember you may not get information flow / capital backing you if you're on your own. also, i've found that once i had a strat in place, i work a lot LESS than if i traded on a desk in the city. i have time to do other things which are important to me. i don't have to reconcile other people's bad positions, or deal with office politics, or other stuff like that.
i'm much more open to a person leaving if they have trading experience already and <35 than a 20 year old college student, or a 50 year old who's a professional in another field. for those who say no - if he's young enough, it's a good option. you can't understand how those long hours can get really difficult to deal with.
oh, fees - if you're a professional, you pay a lot more. you don't have to be a professional at first unless you need healthcare/etc. on your taxes. i did things as capital gains b/c spouse had medical insurance.
hope this helps.
first, i didn't burn bridges. i knew i was GOING to leave - and was at the age in my life where i had to do it now, rather than later. if you're 50, leaving is much riskier than leaving at 25 or 30.
i had lots of connections elsewhere on the street. if i failed at trading, i could go back and get a new techie job. i'm sure you know this, but once you get your foot in on wall street, are competent/can work well under pressure and don't have a negative stigma attached to you, it's relatively easy to get through the interview process elsewhere on the street.
my strategy also is NOT scalable to huge amounts of capital for a bank. however, it does work nicely for me. there are days/weeks where i trade minimally. there are also days where i can't leave my chair. i'm sure you know that already.
i have a good friend who is trading on a desk (15+ years). i told him that i couldn't imagine the stress of trading to make your bonus / make 10mm for them to get a % of it; he told me he couldn't imagine the stress of trading your own money. can you handle that stress, if you lose (whatever amount) you're ok with it?
initially, i traded better when i worked at my techie job because i didn't have the pressure of trading being my only income; are you ok with that?
i also had to take some time to determine my optimal timeframes for trading. they were different than those when i traded with my techie job, you might want to account for that.
by the way, if you're successfully trading on the street (nyc? chicago? london?), remember you may not get information flow / capital backing you if you're on your own. also, i've found that once i had a strat in place, i work a lot LESS than if i traded on a desk in the city. i have time to do other things which are important to me. i don't have to reconcile other people's bad positions, or deal with office politics, or other stuff like that.
i'm much more open to a person leaving if they have trading experience already and <35 than a 20 year old college student, or a 50 year old who's a professional in another field. for those who say no - if he's young enough, it's a good option. you can't understand how those long hours can get really difficult to deal with.
oh, fees - if you're a professional, you pay a lot more. you don't have to be a professional at first unless you need healthcare/etc. on your taxes. i did things as capital gains b/c spouse had medical insurance.
hope this helps.
.