Broker: Day Trader

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Craig Martin

Tell us about your work---what do you do? My main priority is to day trade the stock market --- buy and sell stock-- and make money every day. What skills are needed? You need to be a good strategist , a quick thinker , and licensed to trade. What was your major? Finance How did you get started in your career? I started as a broker with a company, investing money for individuals. I learned to invest other's money and make them millions. I left that company to be a day trader where I make money trading stock for the company. What experience do you need in this job? As a day trader and a broker you don't need any experience. I have met successful brokers and day traders who are highly educated as well as those with only high school education. Describe your "typical" workday: As a broker I would begin the day by looking at my numbers for the week. The number of hours I work depends on whether or not I am on the low end or the high end of my sales goal. If it were a 20-hour week, I would call my biggest clients and chew the fat and talk about business that was coming up. If it was a 90 hour week, I would make phone call after phone call. My phone call count would total 200 to 300 people a week. Now, as a day trader, I look at the stock market and try to determine the flow of money. I look for money coming in and out of different sectors of the market. For example, within one trading day, the semiconductor indexes could go down and the pharmaceutical index up. I make a decision to buy all the strong drug stocks relative to the market and short all the semiconductors that are weak relative to the market. At the end of the day I won't own any stock, but I will have traded 100,000 to 200,000 shares. What is the hardest aspect of your job? Looking back at my career as a broker, I would say the hardest part in the beginning was gaining clients with a high net worth. Being young and a minority in this business raises a lot of brows. Usually I am talking to someone half my age, white, and male. Indirectly you are asking them to trust you with their life savings of more than 20 to 30 years. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? M-O-N-E-Y! Instant gratification. I know how much I make at the end of every day. What are your suggestions for someone considering this field? If you want to be a broker, you need to know at least 7 people who are millionaires. It will make your life a lot easier. If you don't know those 7 people, get ready for a challenging up-hill battle that will put pressure on EVERY aspect of your life. Get to know someone in the business who will help you get connected.
.com/edu/explorecareers/careerprofiles/broker_day_trader.html
Sources +