I essentially dropped out of college my first attempt because I was daytrading OEX options (this was in '95) and I wasn't making it to class. Boy was I glued to my screen (I got tick-by-tick data on an ANSI terminal). Up and down, up and down, It was like crack. I blew up and got a job doing IT stuff and left school with about a year's worth of credits.
A bit later I went back to school in the evenings and took stuff I was interested in: Philosophy, History, Latin, computer science. I ended up with a BA in history and philosophy of science, summa cum laude. It made for some long days and nights. Once in awhile I'd do some highly speculative trades - taking pot shots at gettin' a big stake. Mostly though, my wife and I stuffed money into our 401ks until, surprisingly, we began to feel somewhat financially firm.
Living paycheck-to-paycheck working for someone else sucks, I'd agree.
However, working for someone else, who pays you steadily _and_ having enough money saved up that you don't really worry about losing your job, perhaps 6-9 months of salary, feels pretty good. I'd suspect most of the folks who truly despise employment are working through the former situation.
I estimate the amount of money I'd need in order to not really worry about a job to be about $2M. Until then, maybe I'll diversify into some real estate etc while I continue collecting paychecks. Though the passage is difficult, the farther we trace it - the easier it becomes. When I finish my MBA in a year, I hope I'll be collecting a paycheck or working as a pro trading with some performance attribution. (Incidentally, I'm looking for a trading-related internship this summer - if anyone has some suggestions please PM me).
Kant defined Enlightenment as man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. I respect the independent traders who have grabbed life by the balls in that spirit. I'm not personally into taking huge risks when I dont have a clear edge or basis. I've got some informed ideas though, and we'll see what I cook up in the future. One thing's for sure, I'm not going to go "all in" and lose a significant amount of money.
Being a 'tool' for some corporation and a slave to a mortgage until you die isn't the way to go. However, just because someone chooses to be employed does not necessarily make them some kind of drone. They might be a little more in control of their life than you realize.
A bit later I went back to school in the evenings and took stuff I was interested in: Philosophy, History, Latin, computer science. I ended up with a BA in history and philosophy of science, summa cum laude. It made for some long days and nights. Once in awhile I'd do some highly speculative trades - taking pot shots at gettin' a big stake. Mostly though, my wife and I stuffed money into our 401ks until, surprisingly, we began to feel somewhat financially firm.
Living paycheck-to-paycheck working for someone else sucks, I'd agree.
However, working for someone else, who pays you steadily _and_ having enough money saved up that you don't really worry about losing your job, perhaps 6-9 months of salary, feels pretty good. I'd suspect most of the folks who truly despise employment are working through the former situation.
I estimate the amount of money I'd need in order to not really worry about a job to be about $2M. Until then, maybe I'll diversify into some real estate etc while I continue collecting paychecks. Though the passage is difficult, the farther we trace it - the easier it becomes. When I finish my MBA in a year, I hope I'll be collecting a paycheck or working as a pro trading with some performance attribution. (Incidentally, I'm looking for a trading-related internship this summer - if anyone has some suggestions please PM me).
Kant defined Enlightenment as man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. I respect the independent traders who have grabbed life by the balls in that spirit. I'm not personally into taking huge risks when I dont have a clear edge or basis. I've got some informed ideas though, and we'll see what I cook up in the future. One thing's for sure, I'm not going to go "all in" and lose a significant amount of money.
Being a 'tool' for some corporation and a slave to a mortgage until you die isn't the way to go. However, just because someone chooses to be employed does not necessarily make them some kind of drone. They might be a little more in control of their life than you realize.
