none of academic fields can help you to become a better trader .it's a self study ...
What degree/master/phd would be the best for a trader?
- Thread starter GloriaBrown
- Start date
Nah...
A very successful firm here in Norway which utilizes HFT strategies consists of 4 mathematicians. At least two of them are PhDs.
I don't have the interview at hand, but two things I remember (para-quote):
"We won't emply candidates with an education in finance or economics since they do not have strong enough math skills."
"Some of the strategies that worked very well initially no longer work."
They emphasized how competition had made business tougher lately and that HFT had become more difficult. If I'm not completely wrong, they had started trading over a slightly longer time frame.
not surprise at all. But we cannot really do hft so can be less godlike math.
There are 3 things that make you successful. Read any self-help book and you'll find 2 of them...desire, and talent. Or hard work and skill. Or effort and ability. However they are packaged, those are the two common components of success. The third one, almost never spoken of or acknowledged, is optimism. Optimism stems entirely from the way you explain good and bad events to yourself. If you want to be successful in trading, be an optimist.
An optimist believes...
...that good things happen because you did it, bad things are a fluke.
...that good things always happen, bad things happened just this once.
...that good things are a reflection of your whole life, bad things are a reflection of this one area of experience.
A Pessimist believes...
...that good things are a fluke, bad things happen because you did it.
...that good things happened just this once, bad things always happen.
...that good things are a reflection of this one area of experience, bad things are a reflection of your whole life.
I often times take multiple attempts at catching one trade. I don't want to be late, so I'm often early. After being stopped out once, most traders feel hurt and say subconsciously, "Why did I do that? I'm so careless. I don't want that to happen again." Then they act more careful the next time and end up missing the real move.
I, on the other hand, experience that same bad event (getting stopped out), and say subconsciously, "That happened this one time. I did everything right. I bet that won't happen again." Then I try again and catch the move I'd been waiting for.
No one can be right all the time and there's always a balance between being early or being late. But if your explanation of bad events like losing money is impersonal (that happened), temporary (this one time), and isolated to this one instance (next time will be different), you'll be more likely to try again happily. But if your explanation is personal (I did that), permanent (I always do that), and universal (I'm bad at everything), then you'll find it impossible to take that second attempt. How much more impossible is it, then, when an attempt to catch a move takes 3 tries? Or 4?
Be an optimist. It's a better life than being a Ph.D. Unless your an optimist AND a Ph.D. in which case my answer to your question is a double major in ART and FINANCE. Artistic eyes see more.
An optimist believes...
...that good things happen because you did it, bad things are a fluke.
...that good things always happen, bad things happened just this once.
...that good things are a reflection of your whole life, bad things are a reflection of this one area of experience.
A Pessimist believes...
...that good things are a fluke, bad things happen because you did it.
...that good things happened just this once, bad things always happen.
...that good things are a reflection of this one area of experience, bad things are a reflection of your whole life.
I often times take multiple attempts at catching one trade. I don't want to be late, so I'm often early. After being stopped out once, most traders feel hurt and say subconsciously, "Why did I do that? I'm so careless. I don't want that to happen again." Then they act more careful the next time and end up missing the real move.
I, on the other hand, experience that same bad event (getting stopped out), and say subconsciously, "That happened this one time. I did everything right. I bet that won't happen again." Then I try again and catch the move I'd been waiting for.
No one can be right all the time and there's always a balance between being early or being late. But if your explanation of bad events like losing money is impersonal (that happened), temporary (this one time), and isolated to this one instance (next time will be different), you'll be more likely to try again happily. But if your explanation is personal (I did that), permanent (I always do that), and universal (I'm bad at everything), then you'll find it impossible to take that second attempt. How much more impossible is it, then, when an attempt to catch a move takes 3 tries? Or 4?
Be an optimist. It's a better life than being a Ph.D. Unless your an optimist AND a Ph.D. in which case my answer to your question is a double major in ART and FINANCE. Artistic eyes see more.
Hey there,
I went for MSF with concentration in trading. But the key takeway of trading courses is this:
Taught strategies are already outdated when you apply it. Schools want you complete John Hull's exercises and get a grade in applying jobs. The curriculum are good for building fundamentals.
If you're really interested to learn, there are many other professional ways. One of them is to go for instutrade.com. I am not affiliated, just sharing, but I think they just want you to pay for videos. It depends on how you view these kind of courses.
in academic fields you will learn specific solutions to specific problems.in trading there will be no exact rule.even if you find a specific pattern i trading,sooner or later you will find that pattern is not working .there is no constant in trading .
What a great post! Read this one over and over. Skill, effort, and optimism can take you far in many fields. Let me add what many successful people often say -- choose a career that you love, because that makes the effort part easy.
Financial Engineering would be optimal - but it might get you stuck longer than you like in an analyst role.
It seems like technical degrees are certainly more preferable to general business degrees to firm principles these days. Getting a major in a technical degree and a minor in economics might be fetching.
Another good major or minor would be statistics.
It seems like technical degrees are certainly more preferable to general business degrees to firm principles these days. Getting a major in a technical degree and a minor in economics might be fetching.
Another good major or minor would be statistics.
but seem like math or physics phd gets hft or automated trading jobs but not financial engineering gradutes.