Should I continue searching for a job?
I have a somewhat unique background. I graduated with a CS degree ten years ago. Since then, I've had a couple jobs for a total of six months. I spent five years as a professional poker player and the last five years as an advantage player in casinos. I'm a multi-millionaire from gambling. I don't ever need to work again. In fact, I've been semi-retired the last year.
My problem is boredom. I love to work. I thought stock trading would be a good fit for me - background in programming, mathematics, gambling, etc. I studied up for a month then started applying to entry level stock trading jobs.
I think if someone interviews me or speaks to me, I would have a good shot at getting hired. Unfortunately, I've had no success getting in the door. It seems kinda hopeless. Maybe my story is too ridiculous? Maybe my resume is bad? Maybe I'm less valuable than I think? Do I have any hope or should I give it up and try something else?
What's it like being a retired multimillionaire at 30? Like what's your lifestyle like? Exotic cars? Big house?
I don't think it's relevant but, I have a 2011 Toyota RAV4 and I rent a 2BR for $1500/month. I travel a lot. At home, I read, work out, go out to eat, cook, etc. Simple life.
Do you feel like your multi-millions are enough to last your life? What personal investment advice can you give to a student like myself?
I worked in the casino and hospitality industry when I was younger, went through the ranks as far as I could but stopped upon college graduation. It was a fun industry to be in, albeit the horrible hours (night shifts). Met quite a few professional players and always noticed their large networks, sponsorships, marketing contracts, etc - you have met so many people during your professional years. Wouldn't your network be helpful to your ideas? Someone must know someone?
Getting into a traditional industry without any experience (especially any trading experience would need to be verified) is a tricky one. I am assuming you also have no professional references or people on the inside who could vouch for you?
I started reaching out a few days ago. I actually know quite a few people in the industry, but they work for themselves or smaller hedge funds. I was more interested in working somewhere like SIG. I have a few more people to contact. It's good advice. Thank you.
A few days ago? It'll probably take you a year or so of networking, interviewing, and refining your story to land something. It's a neat and unconventional story and I'm sure someone, somewhere will go for it...you're just going to need to throw a LOT of things at the wall (think bare minimum several hundred calls, emails, application, interviews) to get something to stick.
If you have a proven successful gambling strategy that holds against variance over the long term, why not simply continue gambling and grow your small fortune into a large fortune? This way your time will be occupied, you won't be bored, and continuing gambling will yield the highest return on your invested time. Working for someone else, even say as an analyst / trader at a hedge fund, won't provide you with nearly as high of a return because you're not getting a cut of the P&L. You will retain all the upside by continuing to work (gamble) for yourself. Something doesn't add up here // you're withholding some key part of the story. Am I missing something?
When I say gambling for a living, I mean I physically enter casinos and beat their games, such as roulette.
ROI is not a high priority. I'm looking to do something fulfilling, stimulating, and competitive. What do I need more money for? I have everything I need.
Exponentially more money is not a priority when you have a proven sustainable gambling edge? Got it.
It's not as easy as enter casino, print infinite money. First, you have to find the edge. Then, the hard part, realize your edge without being detected. There's a cap to how much you can make. Casinos will only tolerate so much.
Notwithstanding it not being "easy", you're clearly good enough at it to have amassed a couple M's. Which is to say you're very good at it. Likely much better at doing that than anything else you'll ever dabble in.
Let me be completely frank: finance / hedge funds / trading / being an analyst blah blah blah - if you're looking for quote "something fulfilling, stimulating" - this is the last place in the world you're going to find it. Finance work, whether you're on the sell-side or buyside, is some of the least stimulating and most monotonous, repetitive work out there. It is soul-sucking monotony. The reason the compensation model is so attractive in this industry is because if it wasn't literally no one would do the work. The sole (no pun intended) reason 99% of college or MBA students seek to enter finance is for the potential long-term monetary upside. The tradeoff to the upside is that you have to put in your time and pay your dues - namely, execute on mind numbing work.
All this is to say that you should think long and hard about whether you want to give up your cash cow in pursuit of something "different". If you truly seek to make a difference and do stimulating work, go volunteer, go back to school to get a Ph.D., write a book, hell start a family. The last place you're going to find what you're looking for is in an excel spreadsheet or bloomberg terminal.
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