I used to work for a smaller sized bank. Work was stessful but as long as my performance was good, the money was decent. Of course, I was not working with very much capital. I was part of the proprietary trading division so the pressure was immense. The first two years I made significant returns (28%, 35%) which made me a comfortable living but being significantly in the red the final year I would have most likely been asked to leave, to put it nicely. At this point I decided it was time to resign. Maybe, I should have paid closer attention to our risk management team.
After leaving, I finally had time to catch up on other areas of my life that have been neglected the last 3+ years. These include everything from spending more time with my family (a wife and young son) to running a small business with my partner, which no longer includes currency trading. That part of my life is, for the most part, over.
During the time off I happened to come across Forex Factory. Admittedly, I have never found much value in frequenting the various online financial boards because they tend to be comprised of many arrogant youngsters and obvious commercial interests. I do not believe that I will be a frequent contributor here either but from the little reading I have done I have to admit seeing all the aspiring traders sharing ideas, feedback, and strategies reminds me of the comradery of my old team.
I came across an article posted awhile back that discussed what is was like working on a trading desk. Unfortuantely, I cannot find this thread but what I found humourous is the misconception of the excitement of the job. Let me tell you that it is not what it seems.
On a daily basis trading at a bank is no more exciting than trading your own money. There is still pointless meetings, there is still accountability to other branches (risk mgmt, sales) and there is always research you are supposed to be doing. Trading is a job. If you are trading your own money hopefully you are treating it as such. If you have been trading for years then you probably better understand what I mean.
I guess the point I am most trying to make is that if you are successful (in the long term) trading your own money there is no reason to want to work for a bank. Conversely, if you are successful at trading for a bank there is no reason to trade your own money. So for all you aspiring traders be careful what you wish for - you know the rest!
After leaving, I finally had time to catch up on other areas of my life that have been neglected the last 3+ years. These include everything from spending more time with my family (a wife and young son) to running a small business with my partner, which no longer includes currency trading. That part of my life is, for the most part, over.
During the time off I happened to come across Forex Factory. Admittedly, I have never found much value in frequenting the various online financial boards because they tend to be comprised of many arrogant youngsters and obvious commercial interests. I do not believe that I will be a frequent contributor here either but from the little reading I have done I have to admit seeing all the aspiring traders sharing ideas, feedback, and strategies reminds me of the comradery of my old team.
I came across an article posted awhile back that discussed what is was like working on a trading desk. Unfortuantely, I cannot find this thread but what I found humourous is the misconception of the excitement of the job. Let me tell you that it is not what it seems.
On a daily basis trading at a bank is no more exciting than trading your own money. There is still pointless meetings, there is still accountability to other branches (risk mgmt, sales) and there is always research you are supposed to be doing. Trading is a job. If you are trading your own money hopefully you are treating it as such. If you have been trading for years then you probably better understand what I mean.
I guess the point I am most trying to make is that if you are successful (in the long term) trading your own money there is no reason to want to work for a bank. Conversely, if you are successful at trading for a bank there is no reason to trade your own money. So for all you aspiring traders be careful what you wish for - you know the rest!