Age and Day trading careers

[JTrader]

Hello

here is a anthropological/sociological/pyschological top of discussion with regard to trading. My aim is not to offend or cause argument! Please feel free to dismiss the discussion as irrelevant or a load of rubbish if you so wish, but I will state the case anyway :!: :cheesy:

Being a sedentary occupation, day trading is suitable for people of all ages and physical abilities.

Day trading involves patience, concentration, compared to other occupations - physical inactivity, analytical skills, speed of thought and adjusting to new concepts and technologies.

I am a fairly young person and so have no real experience to compare with at other stages in life.

I am just wondering if people think trading is more suited to any age group - the young maybe for their energy, fresh approach and ability to grasp new concepts, middle aged or the retired maybe for their patience, calmness and overall life experience that they bring?

Perhaps some more senior traders who started trading later in life wish that they had become involved in trading at a younger age, or see the overall life experience which they bring as an advantage and major factor to their trading success? Or perhaps feel that they are more suited to trading now, later in life, than when they were youngster?

Or do you think it all depends on the individual and the mentality that they bring?


Hope this all makes sense :!:

Just curious

Many thanks

jtrader

 

[Uncle]

Jtrader.................how i wish it had been possible all those years ago, when one used to rely on one's bank manager to pass on useful tips on which shares to buy - but alas you wouldnt know that type of individual if you are the age i think your are - and stockbrokers didnt want money up front, and a handshake counted as trust. Oh how I wish it had been possible in my younger days before the P C and able to trade markets boths ways. I was self employed for more than half my working life, and trading is nothing like the vagaries of running your own business - yeah go on tell me Trading is a business...........but you are complete master of your own fate!!! To have to wait for others to pay you for services rendered, and some even go bust on you, can lead to ruin not of your making. No my friend i trade the markets, but this is nothing to some of the heartaches and sleepless nights of yore.

I am sure there are many on here, particularly some of the members from inception who would agree with my sentiments. However, if one is in employment i would not recommend giving up the sinecure to start trading the markets. The responsibilites of a younger person with a mortgage and probably wife and family, is much too great, for the anxiety factor is more likely to work against than for, in making a success at trading for a living.

I am pleased you created this thread and it will be interesting to hear what others have to say, both young and old.


John

 

[ChartMan]

I concur with Uncle. Sometimes there is nothing warmer than a secure job and a paypacket ( at someone elses expense). I too have been in business for half my life and suffered, no doubt, as Uncle has, at the hands of others. I can honestly say, though, that I slept well at night. If you are young and carefree, go for it. If you have dependants, steer clear. Both young and old have probably got adequate attributes to enable them to become traders, but those attributes probably differ quite markedly. - See Socratee's posts... Us Old'uns, probably have the patience to bide our time and not be hustled into poor trades I don't think age comes into it really. What does come into it is understanding the risks and managing those risks. You will find that either you can,or you can't. If you can't, you go bust. Betting 10% on that Big Winner is the quickest way of all. If not this time, next time for sure......

 

[BBB]

I wouldnt go back to work if you paid me!!! lol What I do now is less 'work' (hassle) and pays better

For the record though - I've read of 80-90 year olds day trading futures successfully. When I was on the floor, age didnt seem to distinguish successful traders from the losers. Ages ranged from 17-77. So it would seem the key - as ever - is to find a system and market that suits your personality and temperament.

 

[Uncle]

BBB ............ Yippee!!!!!! seems I am not the only one around with a agile mind!!!!

John

 

[adrianallen99]

A friend of mine day trades on the Nasdaq, FTSE and DOW. He is 67 and is doing quite well. He is retired, so has the time and money to trade. Also he doesn't need to make big risks and his trading pot is seperate from the money he lives on.

 

[Buk]

"Or do you think it all depends on the individual and the mentality that they bring"?

that's about the long & short of it jtrader......as many have commented on this & other boards, the strength, control & discipline/attitude of your mental approach has a powerful effect on your progress & consistancy in this business. Younger traders have just as much chance of achieving success as their more mature colleagues. Trading will throw up fresh experiences/obstacles every single day we switch our machines on & step up to the plate, it's how we deal with those experiences inside our head which will determine whether we're still here this time next month/year!....whether you have $10,000 or $100,000.....if your head aint tuned in & programmed correctly, you're placing yourself at a big disadvantage!

 

[TheBramble]

Interesting introspection jtrader.

There seems to be broad agreement that a wide range of age groups are represented within the trading population.

What your questions have made me think about though are the previous business backgrounds of those who are now trading.

A large (statistically significant) number of traders come from the I.T. sector. But that would only be relevant (taking 1970 as a realistic start point for that industry) to those in the sub-55 age groups.

It would be interesting to know if there was a similarly narrow range of careers from which those in the over-55 age groups evolved.

 

[Uncle]

Bramble.........I dont think you need look for a narrow band so far as Trading is concerned, it is all a question of adapting oneself to what one chooses to do. I guess my working life took me through four areas of occupation - Royal Navy - National Newspaper Rep - Contracts Management, and prior to retirement Interior Design.

However I always had an interest in share dealing after my service with the R.N. and as previously stated, if only the facilitiesfor dealing/trading had been available then!!!!

John

 

[BBB]

In my experience - those older folk who were never in IT, seemed to come from engineering backgrounds. I guess IT comes under engineering anyway, especially those with a mathematical approach to the markets.

 

[JTrader]

Thanks for the posts guys. In the opening post I did overlook the fact that day-trading has only become accessible to most within the last 10 years, and so a persons desire to/suitability to trade before then is only a theoretical consideration.

Although I know fully well that it all comes down to the individual person, my aim was to find out if others thought that intra-day trading naturally lent itself more favourably in terms of the skills required etc., towards a particular age range :idea:

Cheers.