Turning full-time...

Quote from shabushabu:

This is a similar thread to another member who has posted here and I'm just seeking some opinions on my plans and my concerns going forward with this...

Plan
- Quit my 60K CDN / year software engineering role in a month + benefits
- Start daytrading stocks full-time with about $60K US in cash and leveraging it through margin

Risks
- I pay no rent since I still live at home
- Expense are about $1K / month with car insurance/gas/entertainment

Concerns
I've thought about these things for awhile, but want to seek out fresh opinions. That's why I'm not providing my reasons that overcome these obstacles:

- Trading is not very social. When I trade already, it can get a bit boring sitting there infront of my multi-monitor setup. What will happen after a couple months?
- Lose the health benefits and security from my job

Worse-case scenario
- If I cannot continue doing well day trading over the next few months, I'll go find my stable 9-5 job again. I'm not worried at all because my field in software engineering seems to be quite abundant in jobs these days
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Go for it.. You got it easy!

I trade full time and i have 1 wife, 1 house, 2 kids and 2 cars to support. My out goings are much more than yours!

I went full time in Jan 07 with about the same amount of cash as you.

Im doing well and have no plans to go back to work ever again. But it was my third attempt at going full time.

First was back in 2002, but not out of choice, i was out of work as result of the dot com crash and i thought i knew how to trade based on a few lucky few trades i had made in 1999/2000. I lasted six months before giving up. Luckily a friend got me work at the place he was at.

Then i tried again 2005, this time out of choice, but it lasted only 3 months before i quickly realised i wasnt going to make it.
A good job market in 2005 meant i had no problems finding IT work.

If the social thing is important then join a friendly prop firm.
 
Quote from Businessman:

Go for it.. You got it easy!

I trade full time and i have 1 wife, 1 house, 2 kids and 2 cars to support. My out goings are much more than yours!

I went full time in Jan 07 with about the same amount of cash as you.

Im doing well and have no plans to go back to work ever again. But it was my third attempt at going full time.

First was back in 2002, but not out of choice, i was out of work as result of the dot com crash and i thought i knew how to trade based on a few lucky few trades i had made in 1999/2000. I lasted six months before giving up. Luckily a friend got me work at the place he was at.

Then i tried again 2005, this time out of choice, but it lasted only 3 months this time before i realised i wasnt going to make it.
A good job market in 2005 meant i had no problems finding IT work.

If the social thing is important then join a friendly prop firm.
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second this, just jump into it before your logical mind starts telling u u r doing something silly, thats the whole point, sometimes answers ly in the place u least expect to find, in other words, do something idiotic, while u r still young & not tied up /w a wife /w 10 credit card bills, a few kids, car, hse
 
don't quit your day job. If you are planning on using your life savings to trade, I would highly recommend against doing so as you will likely loose it all. It will take you at least 7-10 years to gain the proper amount of experience to go full-time in my view. Even when you feel up to par with the pros on a good trading day, you will still never be perfect and no trader ever is. Move your savings into some t-bills or something and game it out with a small line. Build up your confidence over time and don't blow your wad trying to live the dream when in reality, it is only a fantasy. Good things in life take time to build, have patience, perseverance and the discipline to do the right thing...
 
Businessman,

That's an encouraging story. Did you start full-time with a Prop firm? I'm considering joining a prop firm, but there is none that I am comfortable with where I live, which is Atlanta. I talked with Opus, but a firm like Don Bright's is more to my liking.

Walt
 
Quote from jones247:

Businessman,

That's an encouraging story. Did you start full-time with a Prop firm? I'm considering joining a prop firm, but there is none that I am comfortable with where I live, which is Atlanta. I talked with Opus, but a firm like Don Bright's is more to my liking.

Walt
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No ive always traded from home. I learned to trade the hard/painful way, at home, on my own, losing money day in and day out for months on end.. I like the idea of joining a prop firm to be around other traders, but it suits my family life better if i work from home.
 
you've done 130 trades in a couple of months? sorry, but 2 things 1) with that small amount of trades you can do both trade and keep your job and 2) that really doesn't qualify as a large amount of trades to say you're experienced enough.

i've been trading for years and i can tell you that the markets can change over the course of even a month or two, from easy money in 3 months to a couple of tough months of grinding it out.

I would say until you've had a couple of bad, really tough months you haven't had enough experience. Because until you've felt and experienced that, you'll be mentally ready for that slump that everyone gets. Even the big guys get a few big negative months, are you able to really handle that without cracking? I've gone through so many and my money management is so good that losing never phases me, i know i will get back to making money again soon

having said that, since your situation is actually really conducive to trading (low overhead) if you are gung-ho to trade a couple of things - you might be better off in a prop shop to learn from other guys and see what they do, start very conservative and safe, get your feet wet and don't think it'll be easy because it won't.

good luck either way!
 
Quote from Businessman:

No ive always traded from home. I learned to trade the hard/painful way, at home, on my own, losing money day in and day out for months on end.. I like the idea of joining a prop firm to be around other traders, but it suits my family life better if i work from home.
More...

Virtually all the good prop firms allow you to trade from home. Remote trading is the next big wave with Prop firms. Personnally, I don't feel comfortable beginning that route without the necessary training. That's one of the reasons why I'm very attracted to Bright Trading. The only inconvenience with most Prop firms is the fact that a series 7 is required. However, there are tax advantages, so it's probably well worth it.

Walt
 
As per your original post, I relay my situation just for reference.

I'm in the first 6 months of a trading program I developed. Its current ROI is +/- 65%.

We started with 100K, and I plan to run the program for at minimum 2 years and towards 700K - 1M in capital before I quite my day job.

Some folks may see this as overkill, however, life comes at you fast and its a whole different world when you're out there to bat as an entrepreneur all by yourself.

I completely agree with the first several follow-up post suggesting a delay in quitting your day job.

Feedback welcome.

Happy Trails.
 
Hi folks,

Just wanted to update everyone on my status.

I have not quit yet, but after the recent flip of the market, I got caught doing something everyone and every website/book has told me not to do.

I got caught:

- over trading on margin
- not cutting losses
- revenge trading
- and trading against the trend

60% of my trading account out the window trading EQUITIES.

Just thought I'd post this up incase anyone else plans on getting in to trading.

Do all traders encounter this? Have you?

If so, how'd you get back on your feet to trading? I tried getting back on my feet these last couple days only to get smacked a few times more.

For those that have traded awhile, please let me know.

Thanks!
 
Do not quit your day job.

But if you do, be mentally prepared to lose your entire $60K (and maybe more) because you will. It will be devastating to your psyche.:(
 
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