Where do failed bank traders go after losing all their money?
for traders who never really learned how to take money out of the market...guys who have minimal skills...but are several years out of college...where do they go after they get fired? what can they do? i used to trade govt bonds...then just traded futures contracts on bonds and equity indices...i just have no predictive ability.
i've been unemployed for a few years now.
This is a very difficult thing to admit...it hurts me to the core.
I've applied for every trading related job i see on linkedin and indeed for months....no responses. my old boss would not give me a good recommendation.
sometimes i feel like the only thing i'm qualified to do is drive for Uber, and that's really depressing. i'm exhausted all the time lately...totally out of shape.
I've been out of work for a couple years. I got lucky one year, a few years ago, and made enough money to support me for a few years, but that money is almost gone.
I have been a failure as a trader...can't seem to make and keep money.
I can build excel spreadsheets and write decent VBA and SQL..nothing earth shattering....more like a grunt programmer...no quant level math /coding skills.
i'm older...pushing 40...i need to get a job to make $$. What can i do?
Have you considered MO/BO positions such as risk, or even trade support roles in ops? You’d probably be a good asset in those roles. Heck, maybe even finance.
You could also take up coding on the side and better position yourself going forward. That’s what many jobs are looking for as of late.
Comp won’t be as high but it’ll pay the bills.
Seems like a tough spot to be in, especially if you were let go at the VP level. Just don’t give up and keep pushing. You’ll get there.
Good Luck
i've applied to a bunch of risk jobs...never even got an interview. i suspect that being a prop trader is not the background they are looking for...but i have no idea. i'm also older than most of these roles are looking for.
PM me. There is a investment bank I was talking to for a derivatives trader job 2 weeks ago... I have a contact but I'm not going to vouch for you because I don't know you but you should reach out to this guy... it's a new desk they're creating and seperating their MM desk and prop desk because their MM is a bust with no flow.
did you just forgot to post that anonymously?
Making money as a trader is very very difficult. Especially to do it consistently. Don't get too low on yourself.
From the tone of your post, you sound super down. Try to stay in shape, it helps to keep spirits up. Everybody experiences low points in life, just gotta do the right things in this moment so you are ready when you get your next opportunity.
PM me, I dont have any connections to where I could point you to trading wise, but would be able to help you narrow your focus in your job search and tighten/polish up your resume to give you a better chance at getting a gig you want, Ive gotten new jobs in completely new industries twice now, so I have a decent grasp of what you need to do on that front.
I’m sure you know the answer to this. There are loads of guys in that boat. 1). Around 30 go get an mba 2). Real estate seemed to pull in a fair amount of ex-traders 3). Work for the exchanges. Some sort of sales, business development, etc with them or a with a product provider 4). Bitcoin- tons jumped into this in some way. Though I think that crashes and burns at some point. 5). Start a company. Know a failed trader who did this and is crushing it. If he flipped his company in the next 12 months I could see him clearing 10 million in 3-5 years since launch
How do you expect yourself to be successful with this kind of mentality? No matter what job you would find you won’t be successful not even as an Uber driver!!! I don’t want to make you feel bad or anything I’m just trying to point you to your problem.
“I just have no predictive ability”. I doubt that is a true statement. You do have a predictive ability but you have a self destructive mindset.
Take some time with yourself, stop applying for jobs just focus on yourself for a couple of days maybe weeks if you can afford. Try to speak with someone and get it all out.
Drop me a PM if you need to ... and hope you will get better :)
i wrote that after a bad day after a string of money losing days. not a knockout punch...but enough to put me on the ropes. i essentially trade my own money for myself no....meaning i lost most of my own money, and i was thinking of quitting trading and trying to get a "normal job".
i do have predictive ability...and have been doing better since. it just really hurts to lose money to stupid mistakes. i know i'm capable of being better than that...the stress of "needing" to make money every day is incredibly hard.
i'm either gonna be the next Tom Baldwin...turning 15k into 150 million, or i'm gonna flame out
time to put on my big boy pants
Sorry to hear that bud. Sounds like you're in a bit of a death spiral. Perhaps you should stop trading your own money for a while? It's pretty obvious that your current mental state is causing you to loose more.
Just wanted to note that we recently hired an ex-trader as our new risk manager for the merchant shop I trade for, so don't give your hopes up on that option. So far he's better than the previous dip shit ex risk managers who only saw things black and white. Don't they know there's 50 shades of grey?
Quite a few traders go into MO or BO roles (I've only heard it's because they want more relaxed hours / work but who knows if that's actually true in every case), and these guys are in their 40s and 50s. Obviously you won't make a fortune but still enough to live above average and it could lead to bigger things. It doesn't even need to be an investment bank, retail / commercial banks usually have some sort of trading division as well.
Trade support would probably be your best bet.
Why would you trade for yourself if you only ever worked on a flow desk for basic products? What got you interested in trading to start with? How did you land your initial job? Do you even enjoy trading?
Predictive ability and valuation skills is truly only thing a trader has. If you think you have lotst interest in those not sure why you are targeting trading jobs still.
Think lots of ex-traders go into consulting roles, compliance, contracts and so on.
Morgan Stanley
Apparently, Highland Capital Management
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