Professional trader?

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Derek27
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PDC wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:36 pm
Derek27 wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:17 pm
If a professional trader doesn't call himself a professional trader, what does he say when somebody asks what he does for a living?
They call themselves a trader, just like any one else asked what they do for a living they don't feel a need to prefix their job title with the word 'professional', unless as I said earlier in thread you want to try and make yourself sound better, which in reality you don't do but instead make yourself sound like a cock.

I had this exact situation last night at the gym, in the changing room we were chatting among a group of 5 and myself and the inevitable question came up, what do you do for a living then? Each person replied in turn, one was a builder, another a carpet fitter, lecturer, between jobs at the moment - starting a new position in the NY, IT support, then it was my turn, I replied I am a trader.

I can just imagine what a cock they would have thought I was had I said I was a 'professional' trader. Not one of them felt the need to say they were a professional xyz.
This thread isn't so much about what you call yourself but how you define a professional trader. If someone asks what you do for a living then obviously you can drop the word professional because it's part of the question, but it would be your profession.
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PDC
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Derek27 wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:32 pm
This thread isn't so much about what you call yourself but how you define a professional trader.
I don't recognise such a term or a need for it so therefore I can't define it, hence my point.
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Naffman
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PDC wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:36 pm
Derek27 wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:32 pm
This thread isn't so much about what you call yourself but how you define a professional trader.
I don't recognise such a term or a need for it so therefore I can't define it, hence my point.
I think its because its so commonly used to describe yourself if you're a profitable gambler, you don't ever hear of anyone calling themselves a gambler, they call themselves professional gamblers. Trading isn't too different from gambling so that's why people use it imo.

Just call yourself a sports trader if you don't want to sound like a nob
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Derek27
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vankancisco wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:42 pm
I can understand the will to portray. I went down that road myself many years ago using words like work, job, analyst, etc. If there's no need or motivation to be seen in a certain light, I think the most accurate description is a gambler. I think that is most suited to someone who uses betting exchanges and betting markets. At the end of the day it's pretty self-explanatory. I suppose in financial markets you'd be called a retail trader or investor. I don't think the amount of money has got much to do with. The amount earned doesn't define the activity.
We're all adults on here so I doubt anyone gets a boost or has a desire to portray themselves differently. Trading is gambling as has been said so often, but it's not possible to have a discussion about gambling without stating the nature of your gambling so you have to make a distinction between trading and, shall I say, betting on the nose.

They are after all worlds apart. Unlike a trader, a horse racing punter would never back 20 winners on the bounce.
Trader Pat
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Everynow now and then when somebody new comes around and they ask what I'm doing and what the numbers mean I just tell them I'm gambling, saves a lot of time. Occasionally somebody will delve a little deeper and ask about the charts , ladders etc. and I'll explain a little more. Very very rarely you'll get someone who grasps the concept and understands the difference between gambling and trading but in my experience if you tell everyone who asks that you're a trader most of them will assume you're a just a gambler anyway so it wastes a lot of time to tell them otherwise.
spreadbetting
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Derek27 wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 6:41 pm
We're all adults on here so I doubt anyone gets a boost or has a desire to portray themselves differently.
At the end of the day there's more than one way to interpret the adjective 'professional' so it will simply come down to how someone wishes to portray themselves if they call themselves a pro.

It can either be taken to differentiate that you're trading as a profession i.e. your main source of income, much the same as you'd separate professional footballers and amateur footballers. Lots of people play football not many are pro's, not many people are plumbers so they rarely need to define themselves as a pro plumber/electrician etc. Or you use the adjective professional to imply you've excelled at trading, extremely competent and a cut above the crowd .
Trader Pat wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:09 pm
.............but in my experience if you tell everyone who asks that you're a trader most of them will assume you're a just a gambler anyway so it wastes a lot of time to tell them otherwise.

I gave up trying to explain to people what I did a long time ago, always seem to be more trouble than it's worth especially if they want you to teach them :) I just say I work in an office if anyone asks usually it's less hassle.
Last edited by spreadbetting on Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ruthlessimon
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Trader Pat wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:09 pm
when somebody new comes around and they ask what I'm doing I just tell them I'm gambling, saves a lot of time.
That's bloody forthright - luv it :D !

But Nahhh, I could never be quite that blunt: "I'm working on an Excel project" or "voluntary data scientist" - far better, & people ask just as little questions!!

.. maybe once I'm up to philanthropist levels of profitability I'll go for the pro gambler title ;)
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Derek27
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Trader Pat wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:09 pm
Everynow now and then when somebody new comes around and they ask what I'm doing and what the numbers mean I just tell them I'm gambling, saves a lot of time.
One of the most insulting things anyone has ever said to me was when a mate called round, saw the market grid on my screen and said: "That looks like bingo"! :evil: :lol:
Trader Pat
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ruthlessimon wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:25 pm
.. maybe once I'm up to philanthropist levels of profitability I'll go for the pro gambler title ;)
My levels of profitablilty are far from philanthropist :D

I'm pretty lucky though in that I work full time but its shift work and I'm a supervisor so I'm responsible for doing the roster... I give myself the night shifts which is only 8 hours but everyone thinks I'm doing them a favour when in fact working 10pm-6am means I can get some sleep and still trade, result :)
Trader Pat
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Derek27 wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:33 pm
Trader Pat wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:09 pm
Everynow now and then when somebody new comes around and they ask what I'm doing and what the numbers mean I just tell them I'm gambling, saves a lot of time.
One of the most insulting things anyone has ever said to me was when a mate called round, saw the market grid on my screen and said: "That looks like bingo"! :evil: :lol:
Ouch :D
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ShaunWhite
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My go to reply to the job question seems to have settled into 'oh I'm just one of those boring types who sit at home and makes money on their computer". If they want to know more they'll get more, but tbh when most people ask what job you do they rarely actually care. It's just a conversational tick.

The other variety of "The job question" is a peculiarly male phenomenon, it's basically a primitive instinct to establish social rank. Women don't seem to ask people about jobs in the first 10s like men often do. If I sense it's one of those types of people I'm deliberately obtuse and evasive, "I've got lots of business interests" is the nearest they'll get and to be fair that's probably the most accurate description anyway. People with class usually downplay what they do, it's the wannabes that want to sound special.
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PDC
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Off topic some what but one thing I nearly always find when people do ask a bit more about what I do is that they always ask how much money I make doing it. People seem fine to ask how much I make because of what I do but wouldn't dream of asking anyone in a 'normal' job how much they make.

Do others find this happens?

My stock reply is, how much do you make and I will tell you if it is higher or lower than that, I have never had someone answer me with how much they make.

Just seems peculiar that people think it is fine to ask but would never dream of doing so normally.
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Naffman
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Agreed PDC, I just say 'enough' and it ends there
george
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Well personally i do not consider trading gambling in any way , gamblers wishing for good luck but traders dont need luck they just follow a pattern that works and doing the same thing over and over again doesnt matter the individual result of the market u trade as long as at the end of the day the end of the week, the end of the month or the end of the year u are in profit , its just a skill that some people get it and some dont.

trading sports its a job and a very rewarding one if u ask me
spreadbetting
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PDC wrote:
Fri Dec 07, 2018 11:34 am
Off topic some what but one thing I nearly always find when people do ask a bit more about what I do is that they always ask how much money I make doing it. People seem fine to ask how much I make because of what I do but wouldn't dream of asking anyone in a 'normal' job how much they make.

Do others find this happens?

My stock reply is, how much do you make and I will tell you if it is higher or lower than that, I have never had someone answer me with how much they make.

Just seems peculiar that people think it is fine to ask but would never dream of doing so normally.
Can't blame people for being inquisitive , it's not like a normal profession where you could make a decent guess to how much a bus driver, doctor etc earns . Even I'd like to know what income I need to move from being a full time trader to pro trader.
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