Trading longetivity

Hi guys,

I'm considering pursuing a career in trading. However, it seems as though most traders are young and that there's a fairly high turnover rate at trading firms. What are the longer term career prospects for a trader? i.e. can a person realistically expect to be trading in his or her 40s? If not, do people stop trading and go in a different direction after ten years or so (or make enough money to retire...)? Thanks in advance for the input!

 
Best Response

If somebody is still trading in their 40s, they seriously screwed the pooch somewhere along the line. I'm talking about commodities, I can't speak for equities though I can't imagine it being much different.

I can only speak from my own experience, but trading is a smash-and-grab gig. You make as much as you can as quickly as you can and then you get the fuck out.

I watched a lot of my buddies over the years think they were smarter than the market and end up blowing themselves up. You just can't operate at that level of focus year after year.

 

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