

Ask YC: Entrepreneurship versus Trading - mstoehr

I'm right now a student who, for a future career, is considering pursuing either a job in trading securities on Wall Street or  starting a technology company.  This would be in a few years, and if I were to pursue a career in trading, I would also get another degree probably in order to avoid the worst parts of the recession.<p>I have limited experience with both (as well as in the process of getting a degree in computer science), and either seems fine to me (I'm willing--in fact, excited--to do the work required).<p>My ultimate goal is to make some money that I can use for charitable causes (its from a sense of duty that my grandpa and father raised me to have--hopefully I will stay true to this).  More immediately I want to go after a challenge.  I had presented this question to a trader who argued that I should go into trading because I had better chances overall of making the money that I want and that everyday is a new challenge for him.  But, I want to hear many different perspectives, what advice do you have?
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Mystalic
It's about self-reward. What will reward you more: the challenges of day
trading, arbitrage, and technical investing or the challenges of building a
business, building a team, and making a profit? And think about the larger
picture (i.e. lifestyle, living location, financial security).

I don't know what's the answer, although I will tell you this: trading and
entrepreneurship are not mutually exclusive. ThinkorSwim is a great example of
a group of entrepreneurs who knew trading and built a great business in
Chicago.

