Should I go to college before becoming a trader?

Quote from Player01:

Is it worth investing both time and money into post secondary education if my intent is to become a full time trader? For example, four years for a bachelor of commerce and then another year and a half for a MBA. What are some of the better routes leading to this career?
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Never confuse college with education. If you know for sure you want to trade as a career, the best education will be the one that gets you there. And college is an expensive way to get a lot of extras that you don't need.
My advice, save up $5000 and go join a prop firm. Not all of them charge that much, but the ones that do are either definitely scams, or definitely awsome. Do your research, but I think trading someone elses money and getting trained in their method that has already been proven successful is a great way to get into a long term career as a trader.
 
Quote from J.Joseph:

Never confuse college with education. If you know for sure you want to trade as a career, the best education will be the one that gets you there. And college is an expensive way to get a lot of extras that you don't need.
My advice, save up $5000 and go join a prop firm. Not all of them charge that much, but the ones that do are either definitely scams, or definitely awsome. Do your research, but I think trading someone elses money and getting trained in their method that has already been proven successful is a great way to get into a long term career as a trader.
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J. Joseph the musician? :eek: :D
 
Quote from HurricaneUS:

Would you tell your kid to avoid college?

Unemployment rate for those with degree: 3.9%

Unemployment rate for high school, no degree: 8%


Source: BLS

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm

Now I ask you again:
Would you tell your kid to avoid college?
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90% of the time, yes, don't go--its a waste-- in some cases, i would suggest it, but rarely-- don;t believe the hype!

JA and my experience are pretty much the same.....

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/0...arents-should-not-send-their-kids-to-college/
 
Quote from HurricaneUS:

Would you tell your kid to avoid college?
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No, I would tell her that Women's Studies is a very fine accomplishment and for 80K is rather cheap... It is also good for nothing. :)

Unemployment rate for those with degree: 3.9%
Unemployment rate for high school, no degree: 8%

What is the unemployment rate for people with technical skills? (barber, plumber, electrician,etc)

True story: We went to a birthday dinner a few years back to a restaurant. My brother in law recognized the waitress from college. Mind you this was 20 or so years after college. Well, I thought, her degree sure paid off, if she is a waitress 20 years later.

Of course I could be wrong and maybe that was her 2nd job.... If so than her degree didn't pay her enough...
 
I would also add that if one is not "curious enough" to expand their knowledge beyond high school (assuming they graduated from high school) then they probably won't be successful as a trader - which requires a high degree of curiosity and self-motivation.

I know people whose intellect has not progressed much beyond high school to this day...and that was some 20+ years ago for me
 
Quote from NoDoji:

The answer is: The trader should continue to trade every valid setup that presents itself because "there is a random distribution of wins and losses that define an edge".

Anyone who can accurately "predict" which valid setups will result in winning trades is psychic and will soon be the richest person alive.

http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/11/14/its-one-of-the-more/

Go rats!
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I'm not psychic, but I know a bit about psychology. About two thirds of my setups win and I can pick the winners with s simple trick bringing my system up to about 9 in 10.
The trick is to take the ones that scare you and pass on the ones that you're comfortable with. Take the ones that make you want to chicken out and look for any reason why you shouldn't, and pass on the ones that you can't wait to get into or you're afraid of missing out on such a good opportunity. Test it out on your own system. Or look through every journal entry for the last 50 trades (hopefully you're documenting emotions along with dates, times, and prices). There is a pattern there. The ones you pass for fear went well, the ones you sold for fear kept going, the ones you took for excitement or optimism went sour. Very few exceptions in my experiene. My own emotions are my personal contrarian indicator and the last filter on my system.
Now with that said, trading still doesn't get super easy because fear is still fear, and optimism is still a tranquilizer. The pattern is there nonetheless. So I disagree. Being able to predict which setups will win does not make a person rich. There's another piece to the puzzle that has to do with overcoming intense fear or snapping yourself out of a trance to realize the presence of optimism. When I figure that out, I'll be rich shortly after.
 
Quote from J.Joseph:

I'm not psychic, but I know a bit about psychology. About two thirds of my setups win and I can pick the winners with s simple trick bringing my system up to about 9 in 10.
The trick is to take the ones that scare you and pass on the ones that you're comfortable with. Take the ones that make you want to chicken out and look for any reason why you shouldn't, and pass on the ones that you can't wait to get into or you're afraid of missing out on such a good opportunity. Test it out on your own system. Or look through every journal entry for the last 50 trades (hopefully you're documenting emotions along with dates, times, and prices). There is a pattern there. The ones you pass for fear went well, the ones you sold for fear kept going, the ones you took for excitement or optimism went sour. Very few exceptions in my experiene. My own emotions are my personal contrarian indicator and the last filter on my system.
Now with that said, trading still doesn't get super easy because fear is still fear, and optimism is still a tranquilizer. The pattern is there nonetheless. So I disagree. Being able to predict which setups will win does not make a person rich. There's another piece to the puzzle that has to do with overcoming intense fear or snapping yourself out of a trance to realize the presence of optimism. When I figure that out, I'll be rich shortly after.
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It's the exact opposite for me. The trades that I'm most comfortable with, work out in my favor far more than the "iffy" trades that make me uncomfortable and barely meet my criteria....suffice to say, I don't take too many borderline trades.
 
Quote from J.Joseph:

The trick is to take the ones that scare you and pass on the ones that you're comfortable with. Take the ones that make you want to chicken out and look for any reason why you shouldn't, and pass on the ones that you can't wait to get into or you're afraid of missing out on such a good opportunity.
More...

You've captured the essence of why so many traders fail. If you're unable to trade a well-researched plan by trading all the setups, you're far better off doing exactly what you suggest above. I was just talking with a fellow trader who is in the learning stage and he mentioned a setup that fit his trading plan and how he was afraid to put on the trade, and my immediate response was that he should always trade the ones that feel scariest :cool:
 
Depends what college you go to. Wharton yes, second tier private school charging the same rate as a top tier, probably no.

Quote from Player01:

Is it worth investing both time and money into post secondary education if my intent is to become a full time trader? For example, four years for a bachelor of commerce and then another year and a half for a MBA. What are some of the better routes leading to this career?
More...
 
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