My father was an attorney. He knew what he was doing, he understood the law business, and until the very end of his career, each day looked very similar to the next. As a result of seeing the same day, over and over again, his years of experience were an asset to him. When someone had a problem, they would come to him and he would know the solution. Ultimately this resulted in him managing the firm and led to a very successful career which allowed him to live a good life and retire quite comfortably.
Flash forward to me. I was a market maker, and a pretty good one. I got to know the markets, I learned how to take risk, and I learned the business of trading. From 1993-2000, each day looked the same as the prior day. And, like my father, I was moving up in my company because I had become an expert in something, and that was my value.
Unfortunately, I was only able to enjoy a quarter of a career. Unlike the traders at the firm who retired comfortably, beginning in the 1990's technology and regulation effectively ended trading as a profession. To combat it, I started a hedge fund. That worked for a while, but because I was shanked in the back by an evil partner after the financial crisis, I find myself starting over at age 50 and classify myself as an "unemployable expert".
How many unemployable experts are there in the world? Who knows. But the list of industries producing unemployable experts is growing. Retail is currently under attack. Next will come truck drivers. Then Accountants. Probably lawyers. Doctors?
The way to succeed in this crazy world is to become a murderer. A murderer of jobs. The only people/businesses I see that are really doing well are those that are exterminating someone else's jobs.
This is sad, but true.
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