When is the right time to quit your job and trade full time?

[jinxu]

jl1575 said:

Technically. I'm pretty confident in my system. I'm just not confident in my trading ability yet. I tend to either get too greedy sometimes and other major issues that you would think are minor. Plus the current market conditions worries me. Returning to a job was a hedge bet against a recession. I'm waiting on that to happen. Then I'm gonna see if the government goes into a funding crisis and start slashing everyone's hours. So I keep my job, title, go part time, and trade the other part time.

 

[jinxu]

I don't know about Neke. Didn't he started losing money?

Beside an edge can always disappear.

 

[jinxu]

I see this divergence frequently amongst discussants. The discussions tend to break down when one (or both) parties either 1) do not see this divergence, or 2) both see the divergence, but one (or both) assume that one mindset is "correct" and the other is in "error," as opposed to simply being two different ways of approaching the markets, risk, etc. At least this is my current opinion of the matter. I look forward to your posts, rallymode.

Funny. I see is as just someone not listening to the old "don't argue with an idiot you can't win" adage.

 

[jl1575]

I don't know about Neke. Didn't he started losing money?

Beside an edge can always disappear.

Overall he is doing great. He has big up months, but some considerable down month too.

Alternative, if someone can reach Nodoji's stage that there is almost no losing day, then quitting job would be more sensible. I used to doubt her statement, but recently I come to realize that is totally possible. Among those truly consistently profitable people, many don't have losing week, yet very few people can reach no losing day zone.

 

[i am nobody]

The OP asked:

When is the right time to quit your job and trade full time?

The answer is never.

Giving up a good job to trade is probably the single most foolish thing a person can do careerwise.

Like always the answer is not that simple.

• Maybe you THINK you have a good job.
• You can always change a good job for a better job.
• Only in future you can know if the switch of job was a good idea or not.

I know a man who had a university degree in economics, and also an MBA in Chicago. He worked for a big multinational. Had a very good job. He gave it up to work on commission base for a big broker. The second year he made over 1 million which was far more than the salary of his "good" job. Today we are 20 year further and he made every year much more than in his "very good" job in that multinational. Giving up a good job was the best decision of his life.
My best friend had all his life a very good job. 20 years later he realizes that he missed huge possibilities to have his own business. Many time a good job blocks the way to a better one. You become risk averse.

 

[syswizard]

The OP asked:
Giving up a good job to trade is probably the single most foolish thing a person can do careerwise.

Exception: you work in a sh*t industry like IT consulting where wages and rates keep going lower every year and you take abuse from agencies, employers, and everyone actually....and you have a proven system for making money in the markets.
Info Tech: one of the few sectors on the decline.....
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hi...280000-jobs-in-may-2015-06-05?dist=lcountdown

 

[luisHK]

Sure, I seldom (never) meet up adults of my generation in the corporate race with an impressive income, yet know several entrepreneurs in that situation, even quite young ones, and among the most succesful are highly educated types who left early their corporate jobs.
It's a mentality issue though, if one can't handle the pressure of insecure income than going on his own might not be for him. I've been at it for many years(running my own business, not only trading full time with is much more recent) and could actually retire now in a significantly more confortable position than most corporate types when they reach a ripe age, but still feel a lot of pressure when the going gets rough.
Young kids don't help though, I guess once they are settled -if they ever do- one gets more relaxed with less money.

 

[loyek590]

here's my backassward way of looking at it. When you are young you start out with 28k and hopes of making 2k/mo. So almost 10%/mo, 100%/yr. And after a few rough months (or years) you are finally making 2k/mo, and then your account is 40k, and you still withdraw 2k/mo or about 50%/yr. Then it reaches 100k, and you still only withdraw 2k/mo or about 20%. Congratulations! You have just become old and normal. And the older you get, you are still getting 2k/mo from that original trading account, but now it is more like 6 or even 4%, bout the same as the S&P.

 

[i960]

here's my backassward way of looking at it. When you are young you start out with 28k and hopes of making 2k/mo. So almost 10%/mo, 100%/yr. And after a few rough months (or years) you are finally making 2k/mo, and then your account is 40k, and you still withdraw 2k/mo or about 50%/yr. Then it reaches 100k, and you still only withdraw 2k/mo or about 20%. Congratulations! You have just become old and normal. And the older you get, you are still getting 2k/mo from that original trading account, but now it is more like 6 or even 4%, bout the same as the S&P.

If one is that consistent that it's month in month out the same thing the natural next step is to size up. 2k/month? How about try for 2k a DAY.

 

[Vindago]

What a thread!

I see a lot of confusion between investing and trading, between being barely positive trading and being sometime very positive and other times hid by draw-downs that kill the previous gains.

If you know how to trade you have no draw-downs but instead very controlled and minimal losers, you should be making at least 10% a month (each month of each year) but generally way more than that, if you don't than it is better you stay with your fixed income job.

I am planning to leave my job to focus on trading full time but I won't do that until I have proven that I can make money each and every day, week, month, year.

Can I do that? not yet, though at least I know I cannot lose any significant amount of money anymore. I make 30-50 points most days (when I can trade) but now and then I still revert to old habits and some days I do not make money or lose a bit (10-30points) so I'll keep up and take the time to further improve until I will be ready for full time trading.