What would you even be doing if you couldn't trade

Wanted to share and garner thoughts on a conversation I had with a buddy the past weekend. For context: I am 25-28, trade US Rates around the belly of the curve and some rate vol products at a BB.

My friend also sits in a trading seat at a competitor trading EM FX and we both agreed that there's no other job we could really see ourselves doing. Candidly, I get bored doing project-based work so I know banking and consulting would be failed attempts for me, idk if I could do corp fin for the same reasons. Maybe I could see myself in AM or some insurance company but I also feel that would be immensely boring. 

Is this a relatively common feeling amongst my trading peers on the forum? I'm not really worried about getting fired because of where the rate market is but I think if I did then I really would have no idea what to do if I couldn't find another trading seat. 

I can see the writing on the wall that vanilla rates trading won't be around forever and maybe something like a global macro fund is in my future but I have no clue what I'd do if I couldn't do this job. I guess I'd probably go to school or something find some job so I can eat but I'm just curious if all traders on here are in the game for passion or is it just a career you fell into and stayed because comp is solid. 

 

I mean i’m not OP but if you go to most BB most of the Vanilla Rates guys are dealing with algo and just managing really large orders. They make some directional bets but it seems to me in the macro side of the business there’s only real money left to be made in rate derivs and some EM stuff

 

Why does everyone on this forum seem to want to do VC? The once in a lifetime "pump" is over and isn't coming back - Folks that left junior roles at well-known VCs to strike out on their own or to become faux-influencers hasn't worked out well (unless backed by bank of mom and dad) threw away their career optionality.

 
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