Crossroads

[cs99rrf]

Hey there,

I am 23 years old, and just finshed my MSc in computing in September. I worked as a pre-sales consultant for 2 months and recently quit. The reason being is that I wanted to give day trading a shot full time before I commit myself to a career in IT.

I've dabbled in the stockmarket for about 2 years, to fund uni life, and all the alcohol that goes with it. I've even thought about doing another master in finance, or just doing the trading qualifications. I've got about 8 grand to get me started, but am I making a mistake ? Should I go back into IT ? Or should I do a professional trading course ? I also know how difficult it is to get a job in a bank these day, especially for a graduate. Or should I just go backpacking and forget about it all ?

Any words of wisdom will be appreciated

 

[Tuffty]

These are my own personal views so ignore as you wish. My thoughts are:-

1) £8k isn't enough capital to get someone up and running to consistant profitability trading for themselves.
2) The best education in trading is doing it for real so training/masters etc won't help.
3) Working in a bank is not the same as trading for yourself.
4) Backpacking sounds like a good idea followed by IT (could do it in a markets enviroment), and trading part time unitl you're consistantly profitable, then you'll have a career to fall back on if it all goes wrong.

Well, you did ask!! Others may have different views. I woudn't necessarily follow my own advice.

 

[STE1]

sounds like you need experience of life more than anything else. whether you work in mcdonalds flipping burgers, travel the work or sit punching keys in IT doesn;t matter until you face up to your fears and get a grip on what you want from your life.

crikey did i write that...?

Ste1

 

[eureka]

first, go backpacking, take a break and enjoy
when you get back, get a job at a bank or a hedge fund - get a lower level job if you have to, that's fine, just be close to the trading area and learn, eventually if your smart and good worker, they will let you trade - don't apply to arcades or prop shops, it's nearly impossible to make money with them if you do not have the experience
8 grand is not enough by any means on your own, if you are stubborn and will try it, chances are 99% you will lose.. you may get lucky and make some at the beginning but lose in the end (read Mark Douglas books, they have the examples..)
don't waste a lot of time, get into a place where you can learn from people who know how to make money, the sooner you will get close to these people, the faster you will learn how to trade
all the best!

 

[RUDEBOY]

cs99rrf, you make it sound like it's such a hard choice! Anyone with an MSc should be able to work this one out( not to sound arrogant or dismissive ). Carry on with your chosen line of career and start looking at trading as a possibilty in the future. Build your trading knowledge up!

 

[alpha_monkey]

first, go backpacking, take a break and enjoy
when you get back, get a job at a bank or a hedge fund - get a lower level job if you have to, that's fine, just be close to the trading area and learn, eventually if your smart and good worker, they will let you trade - don't apply to arcades or prop shops, it's nearly impossible to make money with them if you do not have the experience
8 grand is not enough by any means on your own, if you are stubborn and will try it, chances are 99% you will lose.. you may get lucky and make some at the beginning but lose in the end (read Mark Douglas books, they have the examples..)
don't waste a lot of time, get into a place where you can learn from people who know how to make money, the sooner you will get close to these people, the faster you will learn how to trade
all the best!

i respectfully disagree.

going into a bank or a hedge fund 'at a lower level' will have enough layers of job function between you and the action to keep you at bay for at least a couple of years. in its own right, that is a long time to be doing something you're not 100% interested in. additionally, you learn nothing about the dynamics of actually trading in these jobs.

certainly it's possible to move from the (back office to) middle office to the front office but you need a large dose of luck in order to make it happen. in my experience, having worked at four IBs and a fund, i would guess the ratio of success going down this route is less than 1 in 25. everyone wants to be a trader.

if you're aren't going to apply for the graduate programs, and you are commited to a career in trading, I would apply to one of the major / well respected prop shops. search the posts on this board for names - they're fairly obvious. initially, you'd use their capital so the only cost to you if it goes wrong is the time you're with them and your cost of living. (naturally they expect a share of the profits if/when it goes well in return for taking the risk on you.)

a couple of caveats to bear in mind.

firstly, bank trading and prop shop trading are not the same thing. trading at a bank can in some circumstances be thought of as operating a franchise. trading customer flow business effectively provides a book some income alongside outright punts. this diversifies your trading and reduces the need to be right 100% of the time. think of it as the bid-ask spread working in your favour. by contrast, independently going down the prop shop route is arguably harder to make a success of.

secondly, the success rate as a newbie at a prop shop is certainly not 100% - there is a genuine risk of failure. however, it can be done and can be very lucrative.

at this point i wholeheartedly agree with the previous post's comment - get close to people who make money, learn the basics from them, get experience, establish your own style, have a couple of tough times and come through the other side. if all goes well, it should take a year or so until you are reasonably consistent and confident in your trading.

hope this provides some food for thought.
all the best.
AM

 

[cj12]

I know of a trader who had a start bank of 3k and in 18 months was worth 120k so it can be done. this trader use tight stops also is profits are tight he trades 1 to1.not like most who trade 1to3 ratio.

Go for it I would say but if you are wrong DONT LET THE MARKET GET WAY FORM YOU.

You must cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.cut you losses.

(Remember) cut you losses.

sun