How to be a trader for a company?

Here is a list of Financial and Forex companies looking for traders and trainees
http://jobs.efinancialcareers.com/FX_Money_Markets.htm
A whopping 239 companies are listed here

try to understand Aroon this indicator.

Aroon this indicator is trend indientifier.

indicators, i using are

Aroon, MACD, W%R, and ADX

if understand all you are on your way to be rich.

Thanks MTuppers...

This will really come in handy and clearly links into the topic of this thread, if only I knew this ten years ago...

This comment of mine above is the topic I would like to discuss...

Why would anybody post such a comment like mtuppers? Is it ignorance or a language thing? This is a person I am competing against in the market, will he be taking my money or will I take his? Nobody knows as he might not be able to understand threads and posts but he might be an expert on this Aroon indicator of his. So my comment to him is probably just as stupid as his. The point is we should have a lot of tolerance when joining in a public forum. We see so often that the moment people become combative in posts that the posts just go from good to bad to locked. So for the sake of progress maybe we can refrain from noting our great indicators and setups in this thread? MTuppers?

I am touching on this because it happens in a dealing room as well. One time I just couldn't get along with a fellow trader on the direction of a specific trade, he was opposing my view and AFTER I have entered the market to prove his point he took the opposite position to mine and said: "Now we'll see who is right" My nature not being confrontational I promptly closed my position and moved on to other instruments. Forgetting about this specific instance. About a month later he came back to me and said: "See I told you so" his position was making money and mine if I had kept it was losing. I told him that I actually closed my position that same day and moved on. He was furious as he was nurturing his position to prove a point and expending tremendous amounts of energy on this one trade. He did make money on it but could have done much better had he not tried to make a point. So sometimes humility and tolerance can go a very long way...Subsequently we became good friends and both of us learnt a lesson from this experience. He learnt that sometimes he is fighting more against himself than against others and I learnt that it is a good habit not to become personally involved within the market...Don't take a personal issue to the market it will bite you - rather step back and get a new perspective.

Hope this helped

If im a girl, i'd ask you to marry me right now. If i'm a gay i'd track u down and censored.....you always bring a fresh perspective to trading and psychology, nevermind methods. Trader888, please write a book, you describe your experiences so well!

I wonder why this is not stick-ied yet?

I was managing commercial bank's account on forex

It was the most terrible period but I got good experience. I was trading under pressure and fear, then I left the job with small return on account.

If investor cannot imagine risks I recommend you not to take any account to manage.

So trader888 are u saying we can predict up comming data like CPi from current data that we have now? thanks

No I am not saying this I think I have mentioned before that nobody have a crystal ball. However, you can trade in the direction of the information you have available and often new information coming out supports your current data and when more and more data is not supporting it anymore you must re-evaluate your view.

I hope this clarifies, I'm not sure where the question originates from or how I created the impression that prediction is possible...

Well u started as trader & looks like u came out has philosopher.........cool U r so clear in wat U say & wat u do........sure there is lot to learn from U
Keep ur wonderfull post going


Shivaji

Trader, i was hoping you would lend your view of the current dollar strength. In light of negative housing numbers coming out the usd is rallying. Is it the invisible hand just saving face or is it the big money selling? How do you gauge something like this. When the price isnt following the fundamentals? Just wanted to get your take. If this makes you uncomfortable, by all means disregard. Thank You.

Hello,

I have to start by saying this thread is exactly what I have been looking for!

For a long time now I have been trading using TA, and I have made some money, but for the most part I think I have gotten pretty lucky.

I have a huge problem with TA (even though I trade it) and that is that most people who use a TA instrument can not even explain why it works, and that is extremely scary. For, if you can not explain why it works you will not be able to understand the conditions in which it does not work, so therefore if the edge you once exploited in a market ceases to exist you will not be able to realize it until it is to late.

I have other problems with TA, but that is not the part of the main discussion of this thread so I will shy away from this topic.. moving on..

I think it is best to understand why price moves where it moves when it moves there and why it stops moving in that direction. Which is why I have been looking into FA

Price does not move because of technical indicators, price actually moves the indicators... On the contrary, FA moves price.. With that being said, I think it is a good idea to use FA to form an opinion on the market, and then use TA to confirm that opinion..

That being said, I want to learn how to trade off of fundamental data, and instead of looking at a bunch of different reports, I would rather form a type of strategy where I can determine the direction price should move with FA and confirm when it will move with TA

Trader888, how do you go about forming an opinion on a market you want to trade, and in turn how do you form strategies using FA?

Are there any books you recommend reading on the topic of FA?

Philosophy is the discipline concerned with questions of how one should live. If we apply this to trading then it makes sense to answer certain questions.

There is a saying that the strongest force in the universe is the force exerted by a man who knows where he is going.

Many of us decide to trade not knowing where we want to be we only have a vague idea that "I will have lots of free time...whohooo" What will we do with this free time? Use money during this free time? Then we have to make more again...Vicious circle that one...We do a 9-5 work so we can drive a nice car and live in a nice house...after a while we upgrade and not long we HAVE TO WORK so we can afford the nice car and house. So do we work because we enjoy it or do we work because we have to pay bills? If your motivation to become a trader is to have "lotsa free time" then maybe you should think twice. If you are a trader you wont want to move away from the market it becomes the air you breathe and the reason for your existance.

What is your motivation for trading? The money you are going to "easily" make. I don't think so, you know by now the failure rate of aspiring traders so do you really think you are going to be the one in a million? What are you doing to be the number 1? Dreaming of all your free time? The car you are going to buy?

Maybe you can just sit for a moment and close your eyes and imagine in your minds eye that you are ALREADY a successful trader. Where do you live? What do you drive? Do you have a wife? How do you treat your child? How do you feel knowing that the world is your oyster? Can you visualise exactly where you will be when you are successful one day? Not many people can. Tell me, the car you just dreamt up...what colour is it? Automatic? manual? If you don't make it real in your mind it won't become real...

My motivation was to see if I can do it. If I can overcome my emotions. I already had some money so that wasn't a motivation and I have had all the free time I needed when I was younger and at varsity so no motivation there. I knew I had issues surrounding emotional control and it really urked me that something was bigger than me and I couldn't control myself when confronted by it. So it was a really tough uphill battle for me and my motivation was to be a better person on the other side. I'll be honest to mention that it really nearly killed me but as soon as I realised the emotions I was going through was as a result of the environment I was brought up in I could start to fight it. I visited a sport psychologist and what I went through was very similar to what great sportsmen go through when they hit a period of losing matches. I thought I had a fear of failure but when I went in deep I had to admit that I was self-sabotaging myself as well into doing silly things. I always had this thing with being right. So if I'm up a pip I take the money and run because I now proved that my "system" is right so I am right. The fact that a single loss wiped a months worth of work meant nothing just as long as I could say "95% of my trades are profitable", I felt great! Once this was pointed out as a fear of failure combined with a fear of success it was as if the clouds lifted and I could accept that change was necessary. It was a great learning experience for me and I think I went through something not many people have the privilege to experience.

I hope this is helpful

trader888, i'm really enjoying your posts here - i hope you become a long time contributor to FF.

Sounds like taken straight out of 'Huna' principles, ... and it works.
Very helpful post. thanks Trader888

so trader888..

how do we learn to develop a bullish or bearish outlook on a particular market?

What should we look at?

How should we plan our trades?

Are any of these questions you can answer?

Hope to hear back soon
Dave

Surely as soon as the $ index starts to bounce off the bottom. Oil will fall?? Most currencies have seen a large change with the $ which is clearly a correlation for Oil. My guess is as soon as the $ turns we could see Oil down to $55 a barrel....

Your thoughts!

markt

Hey there,

Yeah its true, unfortunately it comes down quite often to whom you know.

Some of the best traders out there dont belong to big companies. with smaller private companies or simply doing it on there own.

Best advice is get a job in a bank or a financial company with a trading sector and keep at it. Plus trade your heart out on the online FX platforms,
use the 100:1 and 200:1 leverage to your advantage. If you can do well wit that, you are trading the samea s the big boys as leveraged puts you in the millions range easily without having it.

Keep your portfolio records of that success and submit it along with resumes
GOES ALONG WAY


Good luck and enjoy the FX

Wow, what an interesting thread. Definitely what I was looking for.

I graduated 3 years ago from college with a degree in Intl. Studies and Economics.

Living is S. Florida, I had a hard time finding some good jobs in the field, therefore I got into banking (Bank of America and Washington Mutual) to be at least "close" to the field (but all I really did at both banks was to open accounts, manage them.....only banking products, nothing to do with investments.)

Recently I finally got a job with UBS, and even though the position is not that exciting (I am an assistant to several financial advisors), I try to beat those moment of sadness when I think "damn, I feel like a secretary" with the following mantra "stay positive, at least you got into the company...get your licences, use and read all the inside info the company has and ask, ask ask as much as possible all the questions you want."

And this is what I am doing...next to my desk there is a great guy who is a commodity broker and works with forex a lot. I just ask him a lot of questions and he is very cool about it.

Some days are tough 'cause once again, the position is not the most exciting, but at least I am in a great company that has huge presence in the FX market and it is a great office to be at (Bank of America tower in downtown Miami...cool place to be).

I know that eventually any FX job would mean that I have to move up north, like NYC, 'cause Miami is just not the right place for that.

I do not want to become a Financial Advisor, especially after seeing what they do every day. No matter how good you are at picking mutual funds, it all comes down to how much money you manage. You have rich clients, you live like a king....you do not know rich people, then you are miserable.

I am 25 and all I know is that if I was a millionaire, I would never give my millions to a 25 year old guy, I'd rather go to, at least, a 40 year old dude with more experience in the field.

Therefore I hope to use this experience to add a great name to my resume, get my licences and then take it from there. At least now I got into the industry, only time will tell what happens next.

My advice is that if you want to get into the industry, you gotta be humble and accept less attractive positions, but at least you get your foot inside. Then it is up to you. Most assistants stay miserable 'cause the do not take they licences and remain assistants forever. You might as well call yourself a secretary for life if you do that. But if you take advantage of the possibilities the company has to offer for growth, then you might have a chance.

Let me add that to get to this new job I now have to wake up a 6 am and commute for a good 3 hrs per day....I take the train to downtown. Not fun at all....my last job at the bank was only 5 min from my house. Even worst, I will be making less then what I was making at the bank (not by much though). But then again, life is about sacrifice. It was now or never, and it is not an easy change but I just HAD to do it, no matter what. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.

Good luck,

Future

Great post Future.. thanks..


although..

I really had no idea, you're unhappy with your j.o.b.
...now I know, why my coffee tastes sour at times.

talk to you in the office on Monday.


.





sorry Future, I couldn't resist.
If you seek long enough, you'll find what you're looking for.

You got me for a second...I then checked your profile and saw you are from Canada and I felt safe....I gotta be carefoul to give out all these details next time :0

1) arrive with starbucks 2 hours before market(s) open
2) Check emails / watch funny flash movies /read the journal
3) login to bloomberg / check open positions
4) chat with fellow traders about paris hilton / michael vick, osama... etc
5) morning call coming over the hoot box... act interested, but secretly paying attention to espn or cnbc.
6) surf web .... send emails... make a few phone calls
7) news coming out.... who cares, they are already in their positions. that's
for dumb money.
8) check charts... fibs close to 50 or 61 ??? oh well, post call meetings coming
up in conference rooms anyway. time for a refresh on coffee
9) Research guy is going anyway... "buy me one too buddy"
10) lunch coming soon... where's the order sheet ????
11) order $20 lunch.... not my money hehe... boss buys all of it....
12) can't make company money trading if I'm in mc'ds......
13) Oh man, I forgot it's tuesday, tee time at 2 with client.
14) maybe fib will be there tomorrow.... opm


How do I know this ???? Cause I am the one who maintains their network, phones (the name turret....), and desktop applications, and recorders. I was employed by one of the big 3 in the phone systems in trading floors worldwide. I traveled the states observing many trading floors, small and large..

Bear / lehman / goldman / bofa / even Enron, so I know what traders do on average days.... note: free food only on smaller firms (florida especially)

trader 888 hit it right on the head, on why do traders stay with the "grind", and not do it for themselves.

1) opm....
2) six figure incomes for most traders (avg)... the good ones make much more
3) six figure bonuses for most.... much more again for the butt kickers
4) note: arrogant traders leave w2 statements lying around their phones.
5) benefits..... don't ever underestimate that one.... statesiders count on this.
6) interaction with fellow co-workers : check with Sigmund F on that...lol
7) traders are treated like royalty (especially in banks)... they take your overdraft charges and turn them into millions. They even have their own floors in the high rise bldgs, so they don't have to deal with common folk


I am making extreme lite on the day to day activity of trader, but the point is that, the lowest chart avg commercial trader uses is 4hr (dailys for most)
, so they have a lot of time on their hands.... waiting on fib levels....

Now granted swap, fx, mortgageback, hi yield, fixed income etc all have their differnet scenarios and stress levels, but you can almost hear pin drops on most floors, unless march madness or masters is on.......

It is amazing what traders will chat about , when you just ask. That's how i got in fx in the first place..... 1 pip at a time....

nick