Life/Career Direction?

[white_goodman]

Basically I think I know the answer deep down inside me, but none the less I would appreciate some commments and discussion.

To under stand my predicament a quick summary of my life is. When I was 12 I began investing in shares (I had read business news/mags prob since I was 10). When I was 16 I owned and ran my own retail business for two and a half years. I then moved into Real Estate as a sales agent (I enjoy selling/putting deals together) before being offered a job with a property developer which I accepted. As part of this I had to do a uni course which I of course pay for. Currently I work full time and study full time via correspondence at night and on the weekend. I am currently about 50% through my course.

I currently "like" my job, but for numerous reasons I dont have a "passion" for it. I am constantly drawn to the stockmarket, whether trading/investing my self or even going as far as looking at jobs online. Basically that is the industry I am ment to work in, i have never lost my passion or love for the stock market and investing.

The problem however is I am halfway through a Uni degee (property) and am kinda stuck, if I wanted to change industries I dont/wont have the correct degree. Furthermore I couldnt go back to getting 30k pa in some junior role (for various reason), I have done the sums and at the very best I could drop down to 40-45k (although it would be hard I would manage).

Has anyone else faced this? any comments?

P.S. I live in Sydney (if that makes a difference)

i sound very similar, I'm currently doing property economics degree and all i think about is trading.... Id suggest have your career and trade on the side till you get proficient

 

[Trembling Hand]

Why would you want to work in the industry when you ultimately want to be a trader?

That is like wanting to be a water boy at the footy when you really want to be kicking the ball. :

 

[investorpaul]

OK Paul I've highlighted two sections in the above.

1) Why do you want to work in the industry? I'm not sure you have a clear understanding of the types of jobs in the industry or the people that inhabit it, so before you decide to throw your current path away for a pasture that may look greener and isn't... go do some work experience in the industry. If you like feel free to PM me and I will discuss some of the good and bad points.

2) Since your ultimate aim would appear to be a trader.... do you think a job in the industry helps or hinders your ultimate goal?


cheers

Sir O

Q1. I want to work in the industry until I am confident enough + have a bit more cash (so I dont have to use some of my long term stocks) to start full time trading myself. Any experience i gain or anything I learn will be in addition to my own "training" I gain from trading my own smaller account in the mean time.

Q2. I think I can be a trader without working in the industry, but I dont see how working in the industry could do any harm.

 

[skyQuake]

Just like to add that its fairly hard to find a job that will lead to trading. (esp trading for yourself) The skillsets required are different, as are the requirements to succeed in the roles.

Prop trading places are rare in the current climate, and working as an analyst or a broker ain't exactly trading.

 

[nomore4s]

Q2. I think I can be a trader without working in the industry, but I dont see how working in the industry could do any harm.

I thought the question should be - How does working in the industry help you achieve your goal of being a trader?

Working in the industry for the sake of working in the industry is a bit of a waste of time imo. You will probably find you will just end up in the same position you are in now - working full time and studying at night to get the qualifications needed to work and progress in that industry.

Wouldn't a better plan be to finish you current studies and try to earn/save as much as possible to build up capital to trade with? When you finish your studies you will also have more time to build and implement a good trading plan.
Sounds to me like you can earn more money doing what you are doing now than changing industries and 'starting again', which will ultimately hurt your final goal of becoming a full time trader.

 

[Temjin]

Here are questions for you to ponder.

What is it that makes you so passionate about share investing/trading over anything right now?

Is it because you wanted a challenge? And would you do it without money?

Can you survive if your trading account is completely blown out?

The BIGGEST problem with pursuing "full time trader" is that most totally underestimate the stress they have to go through in order to generate enough "profit" to get by everyday expenses. It does not matter how CONFIDENCE you are after accumulating a few more years of experiences. This is because drawdowns to happen and if you are not accumulating surplus wealth with your trading account, then you will be at risk of being wiped out (or sufficiently enough) and forced to go back to the job market.

I am in a fairly similar situation as you are. The job I am in right now is definitely not something I want to do with the rest of my life, in fact, not even for more than a few years.

However, I understand reality. I will not gamble on my own self in generating enough trading profits to get by. The day in which I will quit my job and pursue full time trading (or other stuff) is when I have accumulate enough wealth that it would generate more passive income than my expense. Yep, it's all about achieving financial freedom.

My motivation is not in having a passionate for trading itself, but in achieving freedom from the rat race and be given more options to pursue something even more.

You are right with the part that there is no harm in working in the industry WHILE trading at the same time. You will gain valuable life experiences (outside of trading) through working in the real world, especially in dealing with people. This is in essential, what some of us are recommending you to do.

Until the day you have enough wealth to go by without trading, don't quit your job or whatever income generating stuff you do. (i.e. a business)

 

[investorpaul]

Wouldn't a better plan be to finish you current studies and try to earn/save as much as possible to build up capital to trade with? When you finish your studies you will also have more time to build and implement a good trading plan.
Sounds to me like you can earn more money doing what you are doing now than changing industries and 'starting again', which will ultimately hurt your final goal of becoming a full time trader.

That may be the case, I think this thread has opened up alot of things to consider and I thank everyone for their input.

In summary, I believe most peoples views are centering on:

1. Working in the industry will not necessarily help my trading and i would be starting from the beginning again.

2. Seeing as trading for myself is my ultimate goal I may be better off doing what I am doing now (working and trading as much as possible). Once I have more capital I can scale down my work and scale up my trading.

3. Seeing as I have done over 50% of my degree I might as well finish it.

4. There is no real disadvantage by not working in the industry

 

[investorpaul]

Here are questions for you to ponder.

What is it that makes you so passionate about share investing/trading over anything right now?

Is it because you wanted a challenge? And would you do it without money?

Can you survive if your trading account is completely blown out?

I am passionate about trading because of the challenge. I love the challenge of looking at the market, understanding price action and finding trading opportunities. Money is the result of successfully completing the challenge.

My trading account is obviously very small at the moment, to lose it all would not be a problem I have considerable savings, long term shares, etc. If i moved into full time trading I would obviously insure I have sufficient savings to carry me through any lean periods

 

[doctorj]

3. Seeing as I have done over 50% of my degree I might as well finish it.

4. There is no real disadvantage by not working in the industry

3. Absofsckinglutely. Get the best grades you possibly can. Grades won't help you in your trading, but they will keep your options open and help you build your purse to trade with.

4. I think the secret to trading that you're likely to learn by working in the industry (trading, equities, debt etc) is that there is no secret. The 2 advantages the big boys have are there connections that help them understand the real story and the fact they're price makers rather than price takers.