wouldnt describe this as "funny"--but back, if memory serves me correct, in late 2000,a trader in the firm where i was at was buying MSTR ( a $300 stock at the time)into strength at the close--got up to around 20000 shares...... next morning the company has some questionable accounting issues and opens down 100 points!!!!!!! guy walked in the morning down 2 million bucks, he didnt lose his temper , just sat there pale white...anyway that was one of the worst things ive seen happen to a person in my life--think the guy lasted maybe a few more weeks after that
Yes that's life, 90% will just be average joe shmoes or total losers. The simple fact that you or I or anyone else got a degree does not separate you from that group. It takes more than that to separate oneself from the sheep. That's the industry. It is a very shady and dirty one. Guess what, brokerage industry is no different. Neither is I-banking. Upgrades/downgrades, hahaha. Top tier analyst pumping stocks at the height of bubble is no different. Ok this is just wrong, I do not bash, I just tell it without any sugar coating. It aint go go 90s with lavish lunch breaks, pool tables and beer Fridays. The reality is that there are way too many undergrads out there and not enough jobs. As for sales desks, when I started there were 3 laid off institutional traders and later on I met an ex GS MM and some more "real job" traders who were either laid off or replaced by a black box. Sorry, that's just life, there is no corporate security, they will kick your ass out without a problem. Well it's quite obvious you were around some seriously pathetic people. In my office there are at least 3 people that make a very consistent 100k+ a year. They come in at 9:30, leave at 4pm, period. They come to make money everyday, that is their goal. There are also a few guys that make serious dough and while they swing, the end result is smth extraordinary. Dead-end? Yeah whatever, as if being a corporate monkey for someone else, working sh*t hours, kissing a$$, dealing with office politics is sooo glamourous. Why don't you preach some corporate job security myth while you're at it. Dude, ur like the bottom of the spectrum of the traders that have been around for 8 years. Seriously, you have such a negative outlook on it that you make my negativity on a bad trading day look like a dance of joy. Why are you even still doing it then? I mean really it sounds like whatever you do, you will be unhappy. The guys that I know who have been around for 8 years or even less but are quite well established are living a dream career/life. It's not a dream job, but quite close if you get the addiction for the game. The freedom cannot be denied, the potential cannot be denied either. It goes past trading NYSE or Nasdaq, trading is speculation and while some may only be good at a gimmick in a certain market, there are also some that simply have IT. The reply is that you have a very twisted view on day trading. I think it's best that you work on understanding speculation and its history before you start bashing trading. What you experienced with dumbos making easy money and then blowing out is the reality of life. The same happened to the IT industry, so what's your point? Some people are meant to speculate and most are not. The one thing that my father told me when I was about to join my first prop is that I had to make a decision. I should either choose to not take risk and become a corporate monkey with possible future advancement at the expense of working for someone else and dealing with a lot of crap or I should choose to be a risk taker and trade for myself and risk becoming absolutely nothing. But if I wanted that reward, the big dream, I had to take the risk.
I traded at Bright a few years ago. One day about an hour and a half into the trading day there were at least 3 guys sleeping at their trading station. The exicitement of Wall Street......lol. These were all former option traders from the Philly Exchange. Probably a lot of sleeping going on down there too...lol.
Let's just say, mid-day became Jerky Boys time. No matter how educated, no matter how old, no matter how successful, the stress of daytrading can turn even the most sophisticated into high school kids, if only for an hour or two.
Some time ago there was a computer which would "switch on" for a short time, once or twice a day. This made our boys a lot of easy money. What's funny about it, our guys would watch videos or play games all day until the computer would switch on and then they would do their thang (everything quited down in concentrated demeanor) and end up thousands plus in their acccounts after some minutes. One of the guys consistently would play the song "P.I.M.P." very loud and we would start hanging again waiting for the next turn hilarious.. also because one of the guys who didn't like making money on a computer trick was particularly annoyed everytime they played the p.i.m.p song
Oh, joy, it was late '99 when I worked at a firm based in NK, called K. Jong-il Capital. I sat adjacent to this weirdo who obviously was a transvestite, at times we would catch him orally pleasuring his dog, who he brought to the office on a daily basis, turns out he was making a few K's/year. Guess he's since left trading, as he's been seen in the White House press corp. But, those were wild times.
It's not a dream job, but quite close if you get the addiction for the game. This i think is where the misconception-discussion about daytrading vs. corporate job stems... Those of us that love the thrill, sit behind our screens waiting for a move, a sign an edge with which to beat the other players in the game are the ones that not be happier any other way...Those that do it for the money and the high end life style are probably better off putting in the effort at college and trying to get that sell side job at the bank. Same comparison to semi-intellectual athletes, pretty hard decision whether to chose to play ball at college or try and get into an ivy-league school. Take the risk and do what you like or chose the safe route and look back in regret. If one makes the athlete side and gets onto an NBA side your set, but lets be honest how many really make it? and how many waste so many educational chances on the way? Lets add the poker players now? great life or waste of a brain? Conclusion: the banking job, although respected and well paid isn't for everybody and nor is trading, just lucky if you figure out which one is for you before you waste 5 years or sucking ash or throwing your net worth into soemone elses account...
A couple of months ago, a dodgy Durable Goods or CPI figure came out and the markets were doing a bit of a wild random thing and people were either making a shedload in seconds or emptying their pockets out quickstyle. In amongst the noise and mayhem, someone not too far away from where I sit screamed out "F**KING HELL, I don't f**king believe it........ two cherries and a bell". This guy was throwing his money at an online slot machine on his internet screen whilst the biggest casino in the world was spitting out money. It's hilarious what some of the characters in this place come out with. It's as close as I ever want to get to working in a circus. Won or lose, it's like working in the Comedy Store.