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Viable ways to leave office job to become a trader
First let me say to Mike if he reads this that his webinars are great. I keep going back to Manesh Patel's psychology of trading.
I'll try to make this brief but I'd really like some feedback from experienced traders. Basically, I'm sick of corporate america and I LOVE trading. I love intra-day trading, swing trading, options, all of it. I can't trade much due to job restrictions (I work at a mutual fund company) and I want nothing more than to become a trader full time. I'm confident that I could consistently pull money out of the market (assume I'm correct when providing advice please)
My plan has been to get two years salary in the bank and then make a go on my own as a discretionary trader but i'm wondering if there's any other viable ways, keeping in my mind that i still have bills to pay.
Is a prop firm my only other option, assuming i can find one in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I've looked, but haven't found any. Even then, I don't see that as being viable without sizable cash reserves.
Thank you
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Most experienced traders are going to find a lot of flags with this post, excluding what you have specifically asked to be ignored.
What is your role at this mutual fund place that you are sick of it? I traded and continue to trade while in 'corporate America' because the industry I am in is so directly linked to the world of trading, just not the "earn a living trading with $5k in the bank" kind of trading. You have a good thing going on here, it seems, especially since you can swing trade with options, a method which require some after hours homework, all the while, keeping you flush with steady income.
Intraday trading generally attracts 'broke' people who may have stumbled upon one of the snake oilmen ads within the Ninja, MC, MT4 vendor landscape. Many cannot type a CAGR formula in Excel but think they can extract large sums of money from financial markets because their special indicator turned the right color. You don't seem to be the type. Please think long and hard about why you really want to do it.
First of all, I don't think a trader can be "sick of corporate america". After all, what would the stock market be without the actions of corporations
I think you hate your job...you seem stuck...no ambition...the job may be boring and you see no path of advancement.
I guess the questions I would have are:
1. How long have you actually been trading?
"I love intra-day trading, swing trading, options, all of it." EACH of these areas takes years to become competent enough to decide that you can make it a sole income.
Most traders I know that work the market have a specialty...they are long term or long term swing traders (me), they are intra-day traders, they are options traders, commodities/futures players, they do FOREX.
They don't dabble in all areas...they develop an expertise in one and get very good at it.
2. What is your style?? Are you a chartist? Do you like to dig into corporate finances? Have you developed a talent for sifting through news to identify the good from the bad/ugly and combined with an ability for identifying momentum plays...this takes years to become an expert too...any one of these.
When I hear the words "I LOVE trading" from someone who appears to have limited experience in actually doing it, I hear "I LOVE gambling" instead.
It is probably the reason statistically 95+% of newbie daytraders fail and lose all their money in the first year...they think it is easy money and it is anything but.
And initial success in trading is not a reason to give up everything and take on trading full time.
I remember 15 years ago when my son turned 18 (in Canada 18 is legal to gamble) and wanted to go to a local casino. I gave him a fatherly lecture about gambling and how you could go broke mentally and financially getting hooked on gambling. I regret the lesson I decided to teach him....we went to a casino together. Guess what...he could not lose...he was lucky and thought he was the next Nick the Greek...big mistake on my part...though if he did not go with me he would have gone with someone else...over the next several years he lost a lot of money until he came to his senses and quit.
So to come back to your question...before you decide to quit a job in an economy that jobs are not plentiful (telling a recruiter 2 years from now, that the previous 2 year gap in your resume was due to a try to make your fortune in the stock market , is not going to gain you many points in the interview), I would seriously decide what type of trading you want to do.
I would suggest you paper trade and do a lot of reading and develop an expertise you like...not all of them..pick one. Amass a small poke to try your ideas when you feel you are ready. and see what you can do part time.
In the mean time, if you are not happy with your current job, why not look for a more challenging job...it is easier to get work when you are working. It would help if your age was known...I have a feeling that you are early in your working life...not a middle aged person. Don't be in a hurry to get rich quick.
I'm getting a bit frustrated about the amount of negative (yes, negative not constructive) responses and suggestions on the forum. I won't be assuming (for no reason) TexasPlunger is delusional, naive, doesn't know what he is talking about or is a gambler.
So regarding the original question, I guess you don't have enough capital to both support yourself/your family for a long period of time and to fund a reasonable trading account. Which is fine. If you know (think you know) your stuff, firstly you need to get some evidence in the form of a couple of months of results (either on a SIM or with smallest size) trading exactly the way you were planning to. It is necessary for you to see where you are objectively.
Definitely be prepared for worst. There may be a difference between what you've been doing and trading full time. I would suggest you to look into getting funded by a firm that allows you to trade remotely. You can find several companies just by searching on google.
Getting a return on the wealth from your income stream is a great idea.
Intentionally deleting your income stream to live off the compounding of your own capital is foolish.
The question was about a way to trade full time. And I didn't suggest compounding own capital as a solution.
It's all about personal choice. For some people spending a couple of years trying to reach their dream and not succeeding is not the end of the world. Otherwise, only successful business owners and retirees with savings would be traders.
"Intentionally deleting your income stream (opportunity cost?) to live off the compounding of your own capital (essence of trading?) is foolish."
Since @TexasPlunger has only 1 post on futures.io (formerly BMT) he may not be serious about his question.
The first step is to become an elite member here.
Then read, read, read everything here and other trading site and seminars.
DO NOT buy a 'system'
Trade sim mode while staying at your job.
If you have to trade after hours, then do that but only SIM mode until you are consistent.
But again, @TexasPlunger does not appear to be 'ready' to become a full time trader.
Someone desiring this as much as stated would have been sim trading when the market is open to get the skill necessary to reach the goal. With markets open 24hrs there is little excuse to use your 'job' as a reason for not trading.
There was no mention of an 'edge' or trading method or experience.
To jump into a 'new' career with no experience or plan is CRAZY.
JM2C
Rejoice in the Thunderstorms of Life . . .
Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
