What should i do?

Beginner Questions
1

I have been thinking too much about it lately and as much i think of this scenario it makes me more confused, so i decided to share my story with you guys. May be i could get a guideline.

After college, I was lucky enough to get admission in an engineering college. Let’s say, I didn’t get some career counselling at the moment and that was the only option ahead of me to take.

It started all well and i passed the first two semesters but after that, for some reason or another, i started losing interest in studies. It was too main-stream for me, I started thinking that this all stuff is going to make me a 9 to 5 employee. There is already too much competition in the market for technical monkeys to survive, i would have no chance to thrive. Even if i would get a degree, i would never be able to make a good engineer. There are few brilliant toppers who get the good jobs then why am I trying to reinvent the wheel ?

Then I turned my focus to IT, even though Computer Sciences were not my majors. I have had a pretty good hand in programming and networking.Meanwhile I was dropped out from university, I acquired networking and system administration certificates like CCNA CCNP RHCE at my own. Not to be an employee, but just to know how stuff works …

I have already heard stories about white collar guys how they make fortunes in financial markets everyday, but it was quite another world for me. I thought being a trader required whole bunch of skills with very higher level of financial education and background (I didn’t know the retailer aspect of markets at the moment that how even ordinary person like me could contribute to these financial markets) .

Until recently when an online friend introduced me to forex trading one and a half year back, I abruptly googled every question there was in my mind about trading and found some valuable information including babypips school

I started studying it systematically from scratch. (thanks to my self motivation). I downloaded almost everything available on the internet and opened account with a forex broker. Gradually i started realizing that this was something i always wanted to do. Even though i am not consistently earning but the journey of learning is still on the go.

I forgot to mention that i started under grad program in computer sciences from scratch a year back, I am passing courses but not studying CS anymore. I spend every minute of my time on study desk studying nothing but about trading.

Now I want to acquire Chartered Financial Analysts – CFA. so I have started thinking in my mind giving up on CS education and start CFA at once.

( Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential has become the most respected and recognized investment designation in the world. It is a renowned global qualification suitable for professionals seeking career in financial markets, investment banking, treasury, corporate finance, investment performance and risk evaluation, risk management, financial planning, investment analysis, and client relations.

The CFA Program curriculum covers concepts and skills you will use at all stages of your career, bridging academic theory, current industry practice, and ethical and professional standards to provide a strong foundation of advanced investment analysis and real-world portfolio management skills. )

For the first time in my life, i know what i want to do, but for that i ll have to choose only one option. Either to complete my CS which will just provide me with a degree as i don’t intend to find a job in IT any-more.
At the other hand getting CFA will help me take my trading experience to a whole new level. Since i have started trading, not a single day passes by when i not dream of seeing myself as a portfolio manager or running a hedge fund.

I am too confused at the moment, what to do and what not to do. Life is too short and I can’t be a specialist at everything. Please suggest me what should I do. Thank you very much.

2

Well I think you’ve pretty much already reached a conclusion to go for CFA and work in the financial industry. To me it sounds like you’re here for affirmation. You want here words of encouragement. Yes you’re on the right path.

We’ve all been there at one point or another. But you know the answers. Not anyone else. So sit down and think through hard. And you’ll know the answer. You don’t need anyone to tell you can or can’t do anything. If you’ve got the answer I say go for it. Don’t let anyone tear you down or tell you you can’t.

In my humble opinion you can always reach a pro level by your performance not only with CFA certification in this industry. There’s free highly valuable information all over the internet. You can get books on the subject and study hard on your own and practice. practice and practice. If you’re willing to put in the work you’ll get there.

3

Rookie definitely hit the nail on the head with his advice. Grow your account to a few millions and you would not need any certification or even education to be respected in this industry.

I am similar to you in many ways. I started trading 18 months ago. Even when I was losing money, I always believed I could turn it around, and I eventually did.

I also am in school, for engineering. Last year, the more I “fell in love” with the market, the more I lost money to the market and the more I lost interest in my classes. Luckily for me, I got a 16 month internship that has renewed my motivation for school while at the same time helping me earn a steady salary and become profitable in forex.

Ultimately, it is not the number of hours you watch a trade that makes you profitable. The currency market can get as boring as watching paint dry and this may tempt you to make impulsive “range-bound short-term” trades, which could easily wipe your account. Because of this, my advice to you and all fx traders would be always diversify your portfolio and never become a full-time freelance trader. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. You do not want your family’s dinner or your children’s school fees to be reliant on the market’s interpretation of whether a Draghi speech is bullish, so get your CS degree even if you may never use it.

4

When thinking about a career change, there are three questions you need to ask yourself:

  1. Do I have the desire? (Will you be willing to do it, even if it was for free? Do you look forward to it?)
  2. Do I have the ability? (Do you have skills\mindset\knowledge that will differentiate you and give you an edge?)
  3. Does it pay? (Taking into account all your opportunity costs, will it be the best investment of your time?)

Now in regards to the first two questions, obviously you’re the only one who can answer them, but for the 3rd, I can’t think of anything else that pays better.

Trading as a business has the lowest floor, and the highest ceiling (I mentioned floor before, because it’s where most traders fall), so trading is for someone who doesn’t want to be average, and who is willing to risk being below average, for a small chance of becoming above average.

Back to my list of questions, Q2 is learnable to an extent, Q3 depends on supply and demand, so Q1 is the most important one of them all, because it’s something that comes from within, and it’s the only one that cannot be changed.

5

Oftentimes when I’m faced with a tough decision I go out and get a good cigar and a decent bottle, or some Stella Artois. About halfway through the cigar you realize you have good problems to be dealing with. I always figure hey if I got myself far enough to be where I am, I trust myself to make good decisions. As rookie39 more as less said you know what you’re going to do anyways…

6

I agree with everyone else…

Babypip, here is one question: which country do you live in?

This is important because, for example, if you lived in the UK

and you were trading Forex (spread betting) as a hobby, you would

not be taxed on your profits, as it would be considered leisure gambling;

however, if it were your main source of income, you would be taxed at

the current rate, that is 20%, although only if your

yearly earnings did not exceed 31,865 GBP, after

which you would pay 40%:

HM Revenue & Customs: Income Tax - the basics

Also, if earned up to but no more than 10,000 GBP

a year, your earnings would not be taxed…

Another thing to think about, although

if you do not live in the UK it may be different…

Cheers

7

Thank you very much Rookie for your kind words. Engineering was not my cup of tea, I should have realized it ages ago but its never too late …

8

Hello [B]PipMeHappy[/B] I am from Pakistan :slight_smile:

9

Hello Aceofpips, It is getting way too difficult for me to carry on with both things together I was just worried that i may end up losing grasp on things. Whereas studying finance would keep me in touch with markets.

10

[B]Braden[/B], I have already been smoking too much but was not getting to a point. I am glad i share my scenarion with you guys :slight_smile: babypips rocks !!

11

Well, āssālam 'alaykum to you!

So, how do you get taxed on spread betting / trading

in Pakistan?

I heard someone on the radio last month

saying that he could not trade Forex in India,

so he had to move to the U.S.A. …

12

Wa alaikum salam to you my friend, We are taxed on annual income, there is no tax on trading itself. I am not sure why India would not allow their people to contribute in spot forex market. I believe there are many traders from India as well, at least i have heard about some of them.

13

As someone from a third world country, I can completely understand why someone would move from India to the US to trade forex.

I am not sure how it is in Pakistan, but where I am from, there are frequent power outages and non-reliable data signal. This is certainly not conducive for a high risk fast moving market like forex and so, every time I see someone from my country on here because of the lure of easy money, I weep a bit because I know they are about to blow their money and then call it a scam. If 70% of North American traders that have ideal forex conditions are in the red, I imagine it is traders from third world countries who don’t fully understand how the market works that inflate the number of forex traders that lose money to 96%. For this reason, Babypip1, I think it is very commendable that you are still in this game after 18 months. Just know that the odds are massively stacked against you and so please, diversify your portfolio.

14

Brother, I don’t know what type of internet connectivity you are having, for me I am using 4g LTE high speed stable connection with a core i7 machine. Most order placing platforms are very lightly designed and they sip bandwidth, not gulp. Like MT4.
Make sure your broker is an ECN, not a dealing desk.
Anyways it’s not the internet speed which suffice the need of being successful trader but one’s experience and extinct.
May the odds be in your favor.

15

Being a tad ambivalent about one’s choice in majors is something we have all had to go through, we have all been there, done that. However, you do not really need a CFA certification for trading…most of the info is available online and nothing beats actual trading experience, whatever you decide, stick with it and good luck…

16

To quote Steve Jobs

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart you’ll know it when you find it”

17

First of all, I want to say that it is not my intention to be rude or insult you. Forgive me if I do.

When I read through your post what comes to my mind is attention span. It seems like you find something you get excited about for a while… a while, then you get bored and quit without finishing it.

I hope you’re right that you finally found what it is what you want to do with your life. Jumping from this to that and never finishing what you start is not going to bring you what you want out of life.

Good luck whatever you choose to do!

18

Yes my friend ! you are right to some extent. Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, we find an empty slot and try ourself to get fit in to. Sometimes we get fit in … but sometimes we won’t … no matter how hard one try. I have been a true victim of this scenario , but the good part is … I never stopped looking for empty slots in the puzzle of life to let me get fit into …That’s what is the purpose of our creation-I suppose. Never give up.

19

These words are giving me goosebumps. best quote ever. Thank you for sharing …

20

In that case, here’s the youtube vid of Steve Jobs, who the quote is from: Amazing Steve Jobs Speech at Stanford with english subtitles