@nithin
Hey,
I am in a similar situation like you, I have taken admission in a Tier 2 Engineering college but still my interest has always been in the markets and derivative instruments. I have also been consistently skipping college (my attendance percentage doesn’t even cross 5%) to trade the markets and also have been consistently earning, getting better, scaling. I Have understood the pricing, settlement, trading of F&O at a much deeper level than before and also most important of all I have stopped trading for the sake of trading and have stopped treating trading as easy money and instead treating it as a very serious business on a daily basis. I understand trading is the riskiest business there is but I have prepared myself for it both mentally and financially as-well.
I have discussed these my trading career with the college admin but they have refused to give any concessions to me unless it is a proper tech startup. Using the money earned from the trading I have invested it on myself and other business ventures to get returns from them too. I understand the college education is good, But I do not feel it is useful for me at this point in my life.
While reading this you may think I have made up my mind, but I am at a sensitive point in life and would like to take advice from you. Committing to either one would mean leaving the other. I am open to advice from everybody on this form. I have consulted with people on either sides of path but I am still in a state of confusion. Many other students could be in this position and advice on this post could help them.
We can’t advise you until and unless you provide some data points of your trading like:
What is your profitability Matrix? (% profit each month, win rate, average R: R)
How long you have been trading? (do you have enough experience)
Do you have a complete set of rules for your trading system?
Do you have enough trade sample size to know about your trading system?
Do you have enough capital?
What is your backup plan?
The list goes on…
By reading your query everyone will tell you to continue your studies (which is a good point).
According to me the best course of action is to learn as much as you can about trading, at the same time continue with your b.tech. (you don’t have to trade, just look at the market after your classes in the evening) Observe the price movement and build data.
Also, NSE and SEBI may increase the market hours after March 24. then you can trade in those hours…
if you survive then it is your call.
THERE IS ALWAYS ANOTHER OPTION. DON’T MAKE EMOTIONAL DECISIONS
(my attendance percentage doesn’t even cross 5%) >> This shows lack of discipline . Market requires Army personal like discipline and it doesn’t have to be sitting infront of screen for 6 hours. If you want to be a trader then take a challenge that you will have 100% attendance for whole year , this will teach you discipline.
Capital market requires capital ;more the better at least 1 cr+ makes worth the effort.
If your so passinate why not complete engineering and get placed in Google/Microsoft built capital then trade( market was there before and will here after your gone). with so much good circle you will get fund for your hedge fund( so many options open up in good circle)
Learning doesn’t require to be in live market. Learn analyze before and after class, there are so many tools now or built your own tools where you can do mock trading or automate your trades, there are so many options.
This is nasscent age and college teaches you a lot , i don’t think dropping out or skipping class is worth it , worth it at all.
I know many Genz like you have fallen for easy money but trust me college life will be remembered for the rest of your life!!
Bro , this is the age to learn .when is the right age after 30
Competition is tough outside and trading is mind fucking all the times ( ache acho ka draw down ke time lag jati hai)
Degree is important and Betch teaches you so many things even if subject seems useless. Discipline,rigor , Tech. , relationships these things create life long skills. Helps in trading.
There are probably thousands of dropouts and hardly one or two succeeded in india for a reason. I don’t feel dropping Btch for trading is worth it!!!
Dropping studies for trading is an extremely bad idea.
Trading returns are not linear. Even if say you are doing well right now, tougher tests will happen. As AlgoEye said, you need capital too. Few lakhs for example just wont do it, you will have to start trading like gamblers to make a living. Failure rate is sky high.
And capital is not enough, need experience, edge, ability to live with uncertainty, capacity to deal with short term failures, to deal with long drawdown periods etc etc. Consistent returns is a myth. Risk is part of returns.
Now, if you already have large capital somehow, say few crores already and don’t have financial pressures for the next decade, and if trading is really really your calling ( likely not, it takes years to develop as a trader) then maybe you can consider it. But ill still strongly advise against it.
Focus on your studies, make a living there and save and compound capital through savings.
You can continue to learn trading in your free time and vacation days. At some point, it might make sense to start looking at trading - but start small for first few live years at least. 98% of people cant even beat FD and most ( 90% ) lose money.
After all of that, trading for a living is possible with above constraints. It took me 5+ years to figure some of this out. And i had some decent savings that i put to use only when i made progress. Many people lose too much too soon.
Average R:R is minimum 1:3 and I look at profit from a week perspective and it has averaged 30-35% and has been as high as 150%, at this sizing win rate is 7 out of 10 (Option buying is what I mostly do)
Have been trading since July 2022 as I turned 18 then only, but was trading in my parents account since I was 16
Yes have written down rules and following them strictly
The sample size is medium size I would say
Enough capitals definition would be different for everyone but my capital and ROI are enough to satisfy my requirements. But I also heavily withdraw majority of my profits to invest in other ventures and spend for fun.
My backup is the business my father has left me (IT Services Firm) which I have been building side by side which has reached an international scale recently and also other sources of income built using trading profits
I was neither dependent on my trading income at the start nor I am right now
And I do not mean to drop out of my degree rather I do want to possess a proper degree. But my question is to keep my main focus on this or that. I still give exams, make assignments projects and participate in all college trips, fests, tech competitions, organising campus placements and apart from lectures and labs I am not missing out on college life. I am also in the process of the building a new club/society in my college for finance/trading.
But the advice to focus on studies is also very right and have experienced it first hand. I think a middle ground would be to start working with the Kite API and building a strategy and execution algo complete with a frontend would be a good project for the college, would look great on the resume and would teach me in and out of software developing. A lot of seniors and alumni work on the KITEAPI and would be willing to help as the coding culture is very great here. Have also been to other IITs, NITs to discuss this project and met people already working on this.
If I am able to build a good algo it would automate most of my trading and allow me to attend college without thinking about trading. I really dont want to continue active trading as a profession my whole life instead it is just to build a large corpus and thus build massive experience in money management.For this I have also decided a cutoff time and conditions after which I would stop trading actively.
As algos are completely out of my forte all advice would be welcome on the legality and feasibility of my idea.
yes, world has too many opportunities and life is long!!.
All the very best! There is always middle ground like you found for yourself , just like markets everything is dynamic.
Also, everything can be learned there is always the first time.
I would suggest first get a degree irrespective of your interests .
why you should get a degree ( if you are not a millionaire now else degree is not required )
Your insurance will cost you less and you will get better policies for graduates
Dont think trading is only in the charts you should have deeper understanding about the markets for that you need to see social life for that you need to learn from peers , who are better peers than your friends in college .
you will understand how business trends atleast at a macro level through your friends what they like , dislike and even from gossips , which brands are in trend which you can use for gauging in markets
you can earn in crores but believe me no amount of money will be equivalent to college life . Markets will be there after 2-3 years but college life you cant get back .
Last : if you think you are that good , then lunch break would be more than sufficient to track all orders and any way in class also you guys use mobiles so i think thats enough time .
Study and get a degree and enjoy the student life you can always earn better later .
You think you are very smart because you have made money from stock market but let me tell you are just being money minded that’s all. Deep down you think you know everything but reality is you still got to learn a lot of things. Today’s generation thinks education is a scam just like trading but there is a reason why education is still a deciding factor for a job post or promotion. Once you drop out of college you will see how education matter like a lot. And one more thing what you will do if you start to make losses in trading or get into debt. what you will do if your health is compromised you may go blind or you may get heart problems etc what will you do? Have you ever thought about those things?
Tricky one. Looking back at my life, I got extremely lucky not once but many times to have come through alright with all the stupidity and risks I took. But unlikely I would have had this outcome if I hadn’t taken those risks. So don’t know what to advice you.
The one thing I can tell you is that trading requires you to be a certain way genetically as well. How not every person can play sports or music, not everyone can trade for a living even if they have access to the best coaches and all the capital in the world. The reason Trading attracts so many people is because of the illusion of easy money and financial independence (not having to work for anybody).
If you really like trading and if you think you have the skills, maybe you could try trading by the side until you complete your college. If you really want to take high risk and if your skills are proven with this part-time trading (you are making money), maybe take a break for 1 year and give it a shot and see if you are good at it or not and if you really like/love it or not. If it doesn’t work (don’t make money), get back to college and the worst case is you would have lost a year of college but would have learnt many money lessons that will help you through your life.
And by the way, if you like finance, I don’t see a point in doing engineering. Most people in this country end up doing degrees in things they don’t like or care about due to peer/family pressure. If you are going to spend four years learning something, I think it is best to learn something that you’d enjoy.
The bull market makes us think we are invincible, so go through at least one bear market like one market cycle, and decide if you are making enough to cover living expenses, future goals, and some to beat inflation.
I repeat just when we think we know enough, the market humbles us.
Luck plays a role in success not just hard work, There are brilliant minds who lost fortunes so be cautious.
Risk is what’s left over after you think you’ve thought of everything. It’s the car you never saw that kills you . Carl Richards
Not just the market, life throws stuff and tests our mettle. In tough times everything becomes secondary so have enough to manage them.
Using others’ money via margin and debt is easy if not managed well will suck us in.
Expenses change and before we know it we will be spending 30X as much as in a decade.
Unless you are well-funded it’s not advisable, even then try to gain experience by working in finance. Many recognized courses will provide degrees and jobs in finance.
Having said that
"The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. " The last lecture
Good luck mate from this side of the brick wall, let me know how it looks on the other side!
You say your graduation course is not useful just in your 1st year
You say you’ve been trading for a couple of years as it is your interest & yet you took admission for Engineering
You say you’re very serious about trading, but also say you’re in a state of confusion
Hope you can spot the dichotomy in your statements. The choice you need to make is not between Trading or Engineering, but between clarity or chaos.
You’re aspiring to do too many things. Once you start cutting out the multiple stuff from your brain, it will let you know what you should exactly be doing. You wouldn’t need others input.
