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I have been a full-time day trader in index futures for years now (about 9 years daily). I refuse to tell anyone that I am a "day trader" because so many people think they know what that is and think poorly of it according to their own preconceptions. I don't even bother trying to explain what I do. People notice my spending patterns and ask what I do for a living, but I am evasive. I tried to teach a young guy I was mentoring how to trade and it was a disaster. He broke a bunch of my rules and lost big. I also had trouble explaining some of my reasoning on certain days when gut took over. I determined it is not something that I can teach a person. I don't understand how people who do newsletters and courses and all that have any time for life. Trading itself takes too much time.
Curious: are there other traders out there who get a negative reaction to the word "day trader" and thus refuse to use it, even though that is what you do? And also, have any of you guys been able to make a living for years trading mostly the same contact?
Been part time for about 5 years just started full time anyone outside my immediate family I tell them I'm a loss manager and 9 out of 10 times that's okay for them every now and then someone probes for more and I tell them I manage financial losses.
I had a family friend who through the grape vine founded out what I was doing and tried to tell me it was a bad decisions because he lost 10k on a options bet and hasn't told his wife lol.
Being a Daytrader is the hardest gig in this business , be loud and proud imo . The skillset required is harder to get than that to be most professions . The capacity to earn is far greater than the majority of professions . I am proud to be a Dter
At some point in the past I quit giving a crap what anyone else thought of what I do. I don't need their approval or permission to day trade or make money in any other way. They would only gain that right if they were paying my bills because I couldn't afford to make the payments myself.
When people ask what I do, I tell them. I expect negativity from people who brag about watching all of the episodes from Lost in one week.
I’m not even profitable yet but have been learning for the past 3 years and I already know what I’m going to tell people I do for a living and that is ‘I am a risk manager’ lol.
I have a friend who wanted help on starting to learn the markets and we met a few times, each time he basically said day trading is a very silly thing to do and he said he’ll stick to learning swing for a number of ignorant reasons.
I trade futures but most people look at me with a blank expression. I don't care if they understand futures. They are receptive to words like funds, wealth management, etf, etc. so to keep it simple I say I trade index funds and they for the most part get it.