I'm 36 and well established. Is switch to trading career realistic?

[HowardCohodas]

Say that when you're a few points down on a trade for the 20th time in a row and not switching your computer on would have been more lucrative than the hours you've just spent giving other people your money!

Trading is the worst thing in the beginning for someone wanting success. At each attempt it beats you down until you consider giving up. Then you get an easy win and suddenly its the best job in the world. Repeat until etiher you get good or the money runs out. I'm still repeating after 14 months of trading!

I admire your enthusiasm but don't sacrifice anything until your account shows a regular profit, you have documented all your trades and learnt to deal with the emotions involved with trading.

Anything else is just madness. I am in a similar boat, just without the family commitments and i can't even bring myself to quit work on the off chance i get good at trading by devoting more time to it. I have changed my working hours so that i can watch the US market open for 3 days a week. Something like this for your intended market would be my suggetion to you.

Arabian is ultimately right, get some money on the line and see what your made of. The rest is all speculation.

Most successful people have similar experiences. Read the bio of Thomas Edison for example. They had setback after setback after setback. What they had to their advantage was not money, but the determination to achieve a dream in spite of obstacles and setbacks.

The keys to success are will and focus.

 

[nunrgguy]

Yeah, the get rich quick and feelgood books that we've all no doubt read always cite Edison as a shining light:idea: don't they? Not the whole story though is it?

 

[richardserrano]

Hi! This is my first post at Trade2Win. , but I am in need of a lot of advice - and feel that some background is needed.I love trading and i think that i could make it but i need help.
i have been trading stocks for a few years but spread is something else.
i need somebody with lot of experience on spread betting to seat with me and let me know what i am doing wrong i live in london my number is 07812677521
thank you RICHARD

 

[DashRiprock]

everyone write this number in your nearest public gents LOL

 

[richardserrano]

thank you mate , nice words i needed today , such bad tradind day
i live in london could you pls give me a call o7812677521 or give you number and i will call you thank

 

[richardserrano]

dash this in not a game mate pls

 

[Mornington Crescent]

"I refuse to shoot craps, play blackjack, or any "house game"."

the market is the ultimate in 'house' games

Move to GO do not collect

 

[HowardCohodas]

Yeah, the get rich quick and feelgood books that we've all no doubt read always cite Edison as a shining light:idea: don't they? Not the whole story though is it?

Edison is not a lesson in feel good or making money, it is a lesson in perseverance. Perseverance is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for success, however you define it.

He was spectacularly successful in so many things. But he was also spectacularly unsuccessful as well. Think, for example, his fight to use DC for the distribution of electricity.

 

[Trader1UK]

Re: I'm 36 and well established. Is a switch to a trading career realistic?

Non of this means anything... whether you are a quick learner, highly academic, have good brains, have been successful in other fields, etc etc etc... doesnt mean u will learn quickly and become a consistent trader, this means nothing to the markets...

This is the toughest game in the world, There are millions of people interested in the markets who will work their butts off and still be going round in circles thinking what the F went wrong. Many have come and gone.

Previous success in business or work or anything in else doesnt mean future success in the markets, The markets are a different breed or game, If your successful at everything else and are a quick learner and highly academic doesnt make it easy for you to be successful at trading the markets.

just my 2c worth..

[EDIT: Please note - all dollar values mentioned in this original post are *U.S.* dollar values, not U.K.]

Hi! This is my first post at Trade2Win. I apologize for the length, but I am in need of a lot of advice - and feel that some background is needed on who I am and what drives me.

I'm 35 years old. I'm very hungry to learn and achieve. Anything and everything trading-related and finance-related excites me, but I have never traded "for real" before. I *have* worked in the trading industry as a (successful) I.T. (Information Technology) professional for several trading firms in the Chicago area. I also play an on-line game called 'Eve' which has complex, extensive player-driven markets with tens of thousands of items that get bought and sold in volume every day. (The game comes with extensive market history and analysis tools.) Every time I have entered the markets in this game, I have A) been passionate about it - loved it - couldn't get enough, and B) Done extremely well........

...........Any and all advice is much appreciated. The more details you can offer, the better. If five years is too much of a hurry no matter my willingness to learn and work, please be honest about it. Like I said, I'll try hard to focus on being a good trader and not on the money, but I already make a good chunk of money. I'll be giving up a lot in terms of annual income to make the switch, and if I'm successful, I know it won't be overnight.

Thanks, and feel free to flame me if you think I need it!!!

 

[JRP2891]

Re: I'm 36 and well established. Is a switch to a trading career realistic?

[EDIT: Please note - all dollar values mentioned in this original post are *U.S.* dollar values, not U.K.]

Hi! This is my first post at Trade2Win. I apologize for the length, but I am in need of a lot of advice - and feel that some background is needed on who I am and what drives me.


Any and all advice is much appreciated. The more details you can offer, the better. If five years is too much of a hurry no matter my willingness to learn and work, please be honest about it. Like I said, I'll try hard to focus on being a good trader and not on the money, but I already make a good chunk of money. I'll be giving up a lot in terms of annual income to make the switch, and if I'm successful, I know it won't be overnight.

Thanks, and feel free to flame me if you think I need it!!!

I never understand anyone on this site saying "don't give up your job, think about the loss of earnings blah blah...". If you truly want to trade for a living, you'll sacrifice anything to make it happen (CO-INCIDENTALLY THAT'S ALSO WHAT IT TAKES), and if like alwaysanoob you obviously have the capital to take off some pressure in the learning stages, then all the better! Oh, and for the 'worry-for-the-wife-brigade', if you pursue the trading route, which is more a way of living and a philosophy on life, and your wife leaves you or gives you grief to the point of destroying what you really want to achieve, she's not the one for you anyway.

However...as has already been said, why's it taken you so long when you've been directly exposed to it through IT work? This is the only thing that might make me suggest you stick to your current path, as surely anyone having a sniff of trading and the desire to learn would have a go at the earliest possible chance...? Then again, you may have your reasons.

 

[meanreversion]

Er, to Alwaysanob, you're in IT and based in Chicago? The IT part is going to make you want to approach the markets quantitatively - you could try applying to a high frequency prop group to carry out coding.. that way you'd get more exposure to the markets and still earn a pretty penny.

I haven't read through all of the posts, but what is the style of trading you think you'd apply to the markets? Short term, long term, high or low frequency, stocks, FX, etc?

 

[coopster]

Re: I'm 36 and well established. Is a switch to a trading career realistic?

I never understand anyone on this site saying "don't give up your job, think about the loss of earnings blah blah..."

That is coming from someone who has obviously done it and succeeded i am guessing?

Maybe there is an option of a sebatical of a few months without losing his customer base? Sort of full on trading but with the option to return cap in hand if all goes wrong?

What am i saying, the guy only works 20 hours a week! He could trade the most volatile parts of the day and do his day job with enough time left over for the family.

 

[JRP2891]

Re: I'm 36 and well established. Is a switch to a trading career realistic?

That is coming from someone who has obviously done it and succeeded i am guessing?

Maybe there is an option of a sebatical of a few months without losing his customer base? Sort of full on trading but with the option to return cap in hand if all goes wrong?

What am i saying, the guy only works 20 hours a week! He could trade the most volatile parts of the day and do his day job with enough time left over for the family.

By all means do it part-time to find out whether it's for you or not, however you'll only make real progress once you fully commit to it.

 

[Liquid validity]

Er, to Alwaysanob, you're in IT and based in Chicago? The IT part is going to make you want to approach the markets quantitatively - you could try applying to a high frequency prop group to carry out coding.. that way you'd get more exposure to the markets and still earn a pretty penny.

I haven't read through all of the posts, but what is the style of trading you think you'd apply to the markets? Short term, long term, high or low frequency, stocks, FX, etc?

Thats a good suggestion that no one has mentioned yet.
To OP, quant forum here for U.S. traders:
http://www.wilmott.com/categories.cfm?catid=38

 

[nunrgguy]

Edison is not a lesson in feel good or making money, it is a lesson in perseverance. Perseverance is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for success, however you define it.

He was spectacularly successful in so many things. But he was also spectacularly unsuccessful as well. Think, for example, his fight to use DC for the distribution of electricity.

You've completely missed the point.

 

[tdrtw]

>>I was indeed under the misconception that I needed to trade full market hours to do well

Ironically after a few years, I've found less time spent in the markets and looking at screens equates to more (less is more ... is more or less what I am trying to say).

You have technology behind you which means you can leverage it. Why do mundane things like look at a screen and wait for a signal then put on a trade. All this can be programmed, then all you have to do is manage your system.

Trading has the advantage of being a mind game where your opponent happens to be yourself and your own flaws (it takes a while for this to settle in). Unlike wanting to become a ballerina or body builder where physical genetics plays a strong role in determining your maximum achievement, trading takes mastering of the mind. You will find you may actually become a better version of yourself with a much more positive outlook on life. But you must search deep for those flaws .. (actually they will surface very quickly when real money is on the line, your instinct will to be look outside for fault and blame, when it's really lurking in you)

In any event, as an IT consultant myself, I leveraged my programming/database skills and run a fully automated system on a server that requires no intervention on my part. With my smart phone I can monitor my server from anywhere from meetings with customers to cafe's on a nice morning. Granted it took me a few years to get to this point, with many bumps in the road, none the less it was a journey well worth the taking. Stay away from how to get rich quick books and focus on books about the mind. Ironically some of the best books I've read that have helped with my trading have nothing to do with trading at all (of course Van Tharp and Douglas should be the first 2 on your list).

Make sure you have fun things to do outside of trading and never let them overlap (like been on vacation and trade!... just because you can).

Good luck, it's a lonely journey as I've come to find (it's not like joining a local soccer club to learn how to kick a ball), but a great journey of self discovery and awareness. Expect 2 to 3 years for it all to slowly converge together.

When you are at the market next watch how effortlessly those vendors making caricature faces of people for $15 do it. It looks so easy, so surreal, it's as though the picture is just appearing on the paper with no effort from the part of the artist. Understand he spent many years of mastering the craft to get to the point of seemingly effortlessness. Trading is no different.

 

[GetMeOut]

Don't do it dude. Don't do it. I am your age. Also in IT.

No amount of technical analysis can 'predict' which trade you should make, etc. This talk of 'edge' and trading a certain approach for 'positive expectancy' is all garbage. No one really has an 'edge' ... and net-net, in efficient markets; everything ends up being neutral to slightly negative expectancy, once you take into account commissions. See... I know this... yet I still 'play the game.' Like you, I have a mathematical mind, love probabilities… so I am an options guy.

‘Day trading’ - You will spend HOURS and HOURS in front of your computer...

What kind of life is that?

And then... BAM... you do this for a few years, and you suffer a huge loss.

A double loss. First, your trading account. Second - your family, friends, and others that you could have spent time with all those years - while you were glued to your computer screen.

Not a good lifestyle, IMO. Not a healthy lifestyle either.

Do it as a hobby - and NOTHING else. Don't make it your primary source of income – the world is a much bigger place than watching markets, tick charts, and all that crap. Your family, friends, mental health, and hygiene will all suffer otherwise. I've personally witnessed this by others who have tried it... sad, sad ending. That’s why I do a few options trade a month/quarter vs. trying to do this every day and hoping to God that things work out so that I feed myself, pay the mortgage.

 

[donaldduke]

‘Day trading’ - You will spend HOURS and HOURS in front of your computer...

What kind of life is that?
...
Not a good lifestyle, IMO. Not a healthy lifestyle either.

Do it as a hobby - and NOTHING else. Don't make it your primary source of income – the world is a much bigger place than watching markets, tick charts, and all that crap. Your family, friends, mental health, and hygiene will all suffer otherwise.

The IT lifestyle sucks just as much as the day trading lifestyle, not much difference being sat in meetings all day or hunched in front of a screen coding or writing documents for 9+ hours a day+ 2 hour commute...

However i still think the OP should take your advice, surety of making 250K a year in IT beats the uncertainty of trading any day. He should only give that up if he really really cant stand working in IT anymore.

 

[GetMeOut]

The IT lifestyle sucks just as much as the day trading lifestyle, not much difference being sat in meetings all day or hunched in front of a screen coding or writing documents for 9+ hours a day+ 2 hour commute...

However i still think the OP should take your advice, surety of making 250K a year in IT beats the uncertainty of trading any day. He should only give that up if he really really cant stand working in IT anymore.

Understand... if you don't like IT... *change careers*. One that pays a steady income. Where you are compensated for producing. Don't just throw in the towel and trade in front of your computer, all day long - really producing nothing. Just leaching, really. What are you producing? As a trader? 'Liquidity for the market." Sure... Horse crap. Life has so much more to offer; so much more one could contribute - to make a difference in your life, and others.

Do it as hobby... hobbies are fun... Never give up your real day job. Ever. Don't like it... find a different, real day job...

 

[donaldduke]

Understand... if you don't like IT... *change careers*. One that pays a steady income. Where you are compensated for producing. Don't just throw in the towel and trade in front of your computer, all day long - really producing nothing. Just leaching, really. What are you producing? As a trader? 'Liquidity for the market." Sure... Horse crap. Life has so much more to offer; so much more one could contribute - to make a difference in your life, and others.

Do it as hobby... hobbies are fun... Never give up your real day job. Ever. Don't like it... find a different, real day job...

Just because you cant do it, or perhaps you dont know anyone else who can do it either.. doesnt mean trading isnt a viable career for everyone. Sure the odds are small, but you never know if you are in 1% who can make a good living at it unless you give it a go. That means at some point, trading full time for at least six months to see if it is for you. You can always go back to your day job if you fail.