Thanks mate for the awesome links!
Yes, I agree with you, but what do you do if you love this "game" so much? Don't want to get to a point where I just "won't have any time for my personal trading"
Two paths from here. Advice?
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Thanks mate for the awesome links!
Yes, I agree with you, but what do you do if you love this "game" so much? Don't want to get to a point where I just "won't have any time for my personal trading"
Thanks for the kind words
I learned English in high school but I honestly kept learning more and more in trading forums, I was a regular in informedtrades.com back in 2009
Totally true, I like to think that speculation is an art and the "artist" is an always student of the market. Even if I've had a great 2014 so far in terms of ROI I remain super humble, the system remains with no changes , I am just atm risking more $ per trade but the risk % parameters remain the same.
You're young, you're probably bi-lingual, Mexico's more promising than it used to be, etc, etc. Go have a normal life for at least a couple of years. Put on a suit and tie and make your family proud. If they paid for your education, that's the least you can do to show your gratitude (as opposed to staying home and trading in your underwear).
You might enjoy finance & banking and decide to stick with it for a while. But even if it seems like a drag while your dream simmers, once you leave to chase the dream you can start with more cash as well as a better resume and more business contacts to fall back on if trading doesn't work out.
The markets will always be there, but if you start with self-employed trading first, the corporate jobs won't.
Totally agree, very wise advice, mate. Much appreciated.
My only problem is that while I am sure markets will always be there for me in 20+ years from today, I won't be the same as I won't have the same energy and motivation . Basically I fear I grow apart from the market for a few years and lose the things I've gain over this past 5 years. That's my concern atm.
Thank you for the answer, mate!
You received smart advice from very experienced traders. As heartbreaking as it seems, follow their advice, for your own good.
My 2 cents...
Dominique
The time frame I had in mind wasn't 20 yrs, it was more along the lines of...
- get a job now, work hard, save some money, make some contacts, build a good credit history (v. important and much harder to do when you're self-employed).
- in two, three, or five years assess your situation. Are you doing well at work? Do you like it? Is a promotion in the cards? Considering grad school? Are you married? Do you have others to support?
- based on your assessment, you might decide to strike out on your own or you might decide you need to stick with a corp job for a while longer while you build your capital base.
Couple more comments:
- If you really have a passion for trading, it won't go away.
- Once you have a corp job, you could stay connected to the markets in the evening hours. There are overnight markets in FX and numerous futures contracts, you could research and place orders for the next day, and so on. Obviously, you don't want these activities to influence your 'real' job performance and you may be prohibited from certain types of transactions, but the main points are 1) your previous trading education needn't go to waste and 2) if you become a full time independent trader some day, you're going to have to adapt to changing markets (or time frames or products) ... get used to that now.
And finally:
Independent trading can be better than almost any corporate job when it's going well, but it can be awful, isolating and depressing when it isn't. If you don't yet have the capital and experience to make a decent living, and you just scrape by, you're not going to be the happiest of campers when you see your friends getting promotions, taking nice vacations and you're sitting at home staring at a screen. And last but not least (because it's all about the chicas), you're not going to be very attractive marriage material either!
Choose wisely...
Right here, newwurldmn provided you the best advice on this thread.
If you trade your own account, there is a 99% probability you'll be a loser like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIMwMsY0ndo
you remind me a lot of myself.
Was up 50% YTD and thought I can do this full time/solo.
If you are 100% confident with your skills, I say go for it. If only 99% though take the IB job. Stable income while practicing your trading skills is very beneficial as well. Even if you lose 1-3%, you can easily recover the loss with income from job.
Was up 50% YTD and thought I can do this full time/solo.
If you are 100% confident with your skills, I say go for it. If only 99% though take the IB job. Stable income while practicing your trading skills is very beneficial as well. Even if you lose 1-3%, you can easily recover the loss with income from job.
Thanks, yes. I actually been thinking about this since 2009. Thinking about what nice it could be trading for a living. I am 100 per cent confident with my skills although I like to remain humble and open minded to try to keep learning everyday.
About stable income, I could get stable income from a part-time job in the afternoon , nnothing related to trading nor investment industry. This would give me the free of pressure needed for a profitable mindset imo . Thing is, if I fail, I would have lost 5 years of possible career journey.
Interesting to know why you think there is a 99 per cent probability to be a loser when trading your own account. Perhaps because of a lot of retail traders are undercapitalized
Very interesting, thanks for this
Look, you are not going to roll up and die in the next few or even the next 20 years.
I am almost 60 years old and have more energy and drive than I ever had at 20. If you take good physical and mental care of yourself, you may be going strong for many years. Don't assume you will lose your mojo. Lots of people don't feel as old as they look.
I am almost 60 years old and have more energy and drive than I ever had at 20. If you take good physical and mental care of yourself, you may be going strong for many years. Don't assume you will lose your mojo. Lots of people don't feel as old as they look.