Is hard work enough to make you a good trader ?

Hi everyone ! 

I’ve already posted with my username but this time I will stay anonymous. 
 

I’m a math major at a European semi-target who will soon start an internship in Exotic Derivatives Trading for an American BB
 

Throughout my education and my first experiences in Finance, I had the impression that a little bit of work and research in books / articles was enough to make me pass the exams / interviews / tasks in my previous internships. 
 

However, I keep hearing that it is hard to make money trading, even though at first sight the role of hedging the positions of the bank knowing the sensitivities of the products or pricing it with the proprietary tools made by the quants doesn’t seem (at first sight) like an unachievable task. Am I lacking comprehension about something that makes the job harder that it seems ? And if it is really as hard as people saying, how can one become a good trader ? 
 

Thanks in advance ! 

4 Comments
 

Read quite a few books on trading. The way I can best describe it (and have seen it through mentors) is that trading is a lot like being good at a rigged arcade game. From the outside, people think you're amazing and that they might have some luck. Then they shoot a weighted ball on an undersized rim at an above standard height and they go 0/3. It just has to click with you. There's plenty of traders who are just average at best. The great ones excel far beyond this. You won't know until you get there. 

 
Most Helpful

Currently an analyst but have worked alongside traders since start of my career:

If by hard work you mean taking the time and effort to read through various sources of information, talk to different traders, etc then yes it'll definitely help.

But hard work alone will not make you a great trader.  Put in a crude way, being sharp AND at the right place and right time will get you there.  Obviously, even the "great" ones aren't always correct so tenacity and ability to keep cool are vital otherwise you won't prob won't last long in the industry.

 

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