At school, should I think about Trading as a Career?

[Traderuk]

Im in secondary school at the moment and before I know it Ive got Maths, French, R.S, English and ICT GCSE's next year and then some more the next year.

Ive thought about what I want to do before but Ive never been sure. Ive been trading on the stockmarket with some of the savings my Grandparents saved up for me (Dont worry, I have othr savings) And I think Ive learned a lot, and the winnings haven't been bad, but it's the learning that I think I should be most concerned about at the moment.

What would you guys say about trading at a career?


I have , in fact, been to barclays stockbrokers in London (My dad own a solicitors firm in a small town near here, and his bank manager at Barclays took my dad, my brother and me to see Barclays Stockbrokers in london.

I was dissapointed to see that it had been mostly Electronic or phone trading for years now though.

 

[adzy]

If your only in school and your already trading successfully Id strongly consider it. Im at uni at the moment practising trading in my spare time hoping to become a trader when i leave and Im loving it. If your unsure what you want to do Id always advice delaying the decision by doing further education eg (college, uni) that way you have time to think clearly with out getting stuck in a dead end job or a career path ur not interested in. What style of trading do you do?

 

[Traderuk]

Mostly specualtives, bid-sitting but some longer term plays of up to a month or two as well.

I also trade covered warrants, for a bit of fun!

I had been planning to go to uni anyway, to get a qualification to fall back on, if trading doesnt work out.

 

[neil]

No hurry

I had been planning to go to uni anyway, to get a qualification to fall back on, if trading doesnt work out.

Very wise. You are young so go to Uni if you can and get a career ( banking, Law etc) then try trading as a sideline initially, or try to get into the trading side of banking and go from there. Your idea of a fall back career is excellent. Keep track of your contacts and acquire new one's (especially if they work in the business of trading) - they should continue to give you informed advice during your contact with them.

Keep some time for fun. Enjoy life along the way.

 

[Traderuk]

Keep some time for fun. Enjoy life along the way.

Now if only I could get my mum to say that. My dad says that, but he doesnt always hace that much clout with her.

 

[LJE]

Im in secondary school at the moment and before I know it Ive got Maths, French, R.S, English and ICT GCSE's next year and then some more the next year.

Ive thought about what I want to do before but Ive never been sure. Ive been trading on the stockmarket with some of the savings my Grandparents saved up for me (Dont worry, I have othr savings) And I think Ive learned a lot, and the winnings haven't been bad, but it's the learning that I think I should be most concerned about at the moment.

What would you guys say about trading at a career?

Hi

Trading may be good fun but believe me if you want to really live and have fun go to Uni ! doesnt matter what you do after - dont miss the chance to enjoy being young making friends and partying partying no real responsiblities no risks. Also you will probably get more respect and recognition from what ever you end up doing if you have degree. If I remember rightly Loughborough does a banking degree (well it did in my day) and I'm sure you can help boost your trading ability and skills by selecting a relevant course like that or Statistics would be useful too (make sure you do something you are actually interested in or else you'll regret it later and wont do as well). The leading banks and brokers are always on the look out for the bright grads coming out of uni. The best thing about trading is you can do it along side anything else you do it doesnt have to be either or. The secret to being happy in life is all about the friends and family you have - the experiences you share with them and what you can do to help them and the people around you - not about money so getting a balance is a lesson your never too young to learn.

 

[Traderuk]

Ive always though Economics is interesting (I know, yawn) but I dont like maths too much. I can do it, but I dont like it that mutch. I quite like statistics though, so would economics be good for me?

 

[charliechan]

lol - if my a level economics teacher knew i was a trader shed have a stroke (i got a d grade - but thats back in the day when a levels were not gcse's in disguise).

the banks, and prop houses will look favourably on an excellent academic background - there is no doubt. and if you want to go and trade their money, then you will probably need excellent degrees from top unis - no doubt. this is unfortunate, as imo, academic qualifications mean squat when it comes to trading skills. its just a filter they use - cos they can afford to given the competition you will face. when i was on the floor at liffe, most of the guys pulling in the big money (on their own accounts) never had two qualifications to rub together. they left school at 15/16, worked on the old mans business at billingsgate, then got on the floor (somehow). those days are long gone though.

at least you know you want to be a trader, and have taken the initiative to get started. you are already streets ahead of the competition of school kids, who imo, say they want to be a trader, when what they want to be is a broker for a bank - massive difference.

all the best.

 

[Traderuk]

Yeah, ive spoken to my friend's dad. he said the same thing you did. Qualifications dont mean squat out in the pit but you'll probably need them to be accepted by a major bank.

Im quite lucky that Ive got a lot of people around me who work in the markets(Maybe its coming form an asian family). my aunts cousin, works as a bond trader for merril Lynch, so naturally he thought my specualtive investing was risky! But he could offer me lots of advice about getting into trading. theres loads of other relatives Ive spoken to as well, so ive certainly got the background of the whole thing worked out.

 

[LJE]

Ive always though Economics is interesting (I know, yawn) but I dont like maths too much. I can do it, but I dont like it that mutch. I quite like statistics though, so would economics be good for me?

I think you would be spot on with an Economics degree you may be able to try it as an A level first - its business studies - politics - marketing - finance - production - the lot it would certainly give you the grounding to understand how the business and world economies work - it could be ideal for a solid background to trading.

Good luck ! (wish Id started trading when I was at uni would of loved it!)

 

[PualoP]

Although you may think Uni is miles away it soon creeps up on you. If you want a degree that'll get you into a front office role and put you in another league from the other candidates try this:

www.ismacentre.rdg.ac.uk/nav2/

or try

www.city.ac.uk

Both have very good links with the industry and graduates are highly sought after by firms.

 

[Anonymous]

Trading as a skill worth acquiring? Yes. Trading as a job? Unless given a salary then it's no different from self-employment, in which the trader will need to do many things as boss, expenditure, cost control, money management etc, many things to do, looks easy but very busy. On the other hand if given a salary to trade for a company or bank (even those with high qualifications) many don't know the difference between "odds for" and "odds against", there are even professionally qualified who lost all their clients money (not just their own) to the casino (both types of casino).

Trading is not a skill acquired by paper qualification nor by license. One can learn more from a proper bookmaker in London than any academic course.

 

[Traderuk]

Trading as a skill worth acquiring? Yes. Trading as a job? Unless given a salary then it's no different from self-employment, in which the trader will need to do many things as boss, expenditure, cost control, money management etc, many things to do, looks easy but very busy. On the other hand if given a salary to trade for a company or bank (even those with high qualifications) many don't know the difference between "odds for" and "odds against", there are even professionally qualified who lost all their clients money (not just their own) to the casino (both types of casino).

Trading is not a skill acquired by paper qualification nor by license. One can learn more from a proper bookmaker in London than any academic course.

#

But where would a self employed trader get the capital?

 

[Anonymous]

Traderuk,

There was a question very similar to yours. The questioner wanted to know whether to sign a contract that risks putting him to a £200,000 handicap. Initially he gets to trade the firm's capital, for no salary but instead has to pay desk fee.

Where does he get the money to pay desk fee? If he can get the money to pay desk fee can't he use that money as trading capital instead?

If he cannot make £200,000 for the company within the stated period in the contract does he have the trading skill? If he has the trading skill why does he need the company? There are many forex firms eg. Refco, that accepts mini-accounts with mini deposits. If someone possesses trading skill, knows how to apply arbitrage and compounding, can't he use a small amount of money to generate stable profits and compound them into big capital?

 

[Traderuk]

Yes, but how would one earn a stable living until they aquired enough cash to make worthwhile gains?

Would you have to, say, set up your own incorporated business and get a business loan to start trading?

 

[Anonymous]

1. Have a salary job, use part of the income from the salary to trade a small account in spare time.

2. I doubt the banks would grant a business loan for such trading activities even if you incorporated, usually you need to show that the corporation is a profitable business before thinking about a loan for business expansion (I could be wrong about different banks' policies though, banks are in the business of making money not doing charity). Incorporating doesn't mean the corporation is a profitable business.

 

[Traderuk]

Ahh I see.

But perhaps there is a bank that specialises in such loans?

 

[Anonymous]

There is something known as venture capitalists, if you know how to contact and convince them, but I don't know how they operate.

I remember Barclays gave loans quite liberally, even to students.

 

[Traderuk]

Ahh yes, venture capital. I would expect they're a bit more careful after 2000 no?

A friend of mine at school, her dad is a venture capitalist. Maybe I could convince him if I ever decide to take that route?

Her uncle is also Finance director at RHM

 

[Anonymous]

If you have the acquisition of the capital question solved, you only need to know how to trade don't you?