The glamorous world of a Trader

Tuesday, 20th April 2010 09:27 - by Boredmum

You have to laugh sometimes at the pre-conceived ideas that people have of a ‘Trader’. I usually don’t divulge to people what I do, as the responses I have had in the past can be rather amusing. I have had friends refer to ‘Shares in the City’! I have heard the question many times ‘Do you wear a set of red braces?’ People think I’m on the phone screaming ‘Sell. Sell. Sell’. Best of all, they assume that we are a bit flash, owning houses in Monaco or whatever. I even had a conversation recently with someone in the financial sector who stated ‘Oh, that sounds so glamorous’. Well, the reality is that it is not glamorous. It is hard work and takes a determined personality to stick with it. The highs are amazing and the lows can sometimes feel like a kick in the gut. The rewards can be good and that is why we are still here, trading after all this time. The reality is that the majority of people come out of the ‘game’ quite quickly. It helps if you have a good bit of money behind you as the mistakes can be expensive but, then again, having a good bit of money behind you also means there is more to lose. It is time consuming. You have to research, read over the views and research of others, find who to trust and who to ignore. Gut instinct has a huge part to play and you never really get away from it. Oh goodness, it all sounds so negative. That is not the case. I have been incredibly lucky the last year and I am coming closer to my goal each day. It is just a little reminder to others that it is not easy and if it was we would all be incredibly rich. Good luck with your trading and if you do have the glamorous world of a Trader; please let me know because your reality may be better than mine.