What would a successful trader do in high school if they could go back.

My question is what would a successful trader do in high school if they could go back. Im currently a Junior in high school and ive wanted to become a trader for a really long time now. But as a high schooler i dont know if im using my time correctly. I read a lot of books on finance and trading, i also try to keep up with the markets. Doing that takes up a lot of my time so im wondering if im doing the right thing. In my head i feel that i should being learning how to trade better but maybe i should just be focusing on getting my grades up to get in a better school then during my college years focus on learning how to trade.

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Best Response

You're on the right track kid. Get in to the best school that you can and major in something quantitative (I recommend CS) and keep reading up on the markets if you want to break into S&T right out of undergrad. 100% you should be focused on getting good grades as opposed to learning trading. And keep in mind you're only 16/17... when I was that age I was deadset on going the MD/PhD route... didn't discover finance or markets until sophomore year of college. Take challenging and interesting classes in college, try to figure out where your strengths lie, and explore other careers ops - sellside trading is largely in a secular decline and won't look the same when you're joining the workforce in 5-6 years as it does now. Best of luck

 

I'd suggest really exploring the various professions within finance, as well as their functions. You say you want to become a trader, but in this day and age, that is a meaningless term. Are you referring to a market-maker? Execution Trader? Prop Trader? Perhaps you're not referring to any of these and instead you're confusing trading with investing.

There are plenty of threads on this website that discuss such matters and can give you guidance.

 

For career paths im really starting to favor private equity. If i wanted to learn more about that field what should i do?

 

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Consumption smoothing is retarded. If you stay in this game for a handful of years, money will be the least of your worries. Live it up, because this is the one time in your life where you might actually have time to spare.

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