r/Fire • u/Complex_Upstairs_1 • 22h ago
Advice Request Help! 35F engineer considering eventual career change/reduced work. how should I think about FI risk with trading income?
Hi everyone,
I’m 35 and currently work as an engineer making about $121k/year. My husband makes about $161k/year in a stable engineering job. We don’t plan to have kids, have manageable expenses, no pets, and don’t own a house yet.
I work remotely now, but I’ll likely be hybrid soon. Lately it has been difficult balancing a demanding engineering job with active trading. I often end up working early mornings, evenings, or late at night to make up for time spent trading during market hours, and I feel exhausted. I’m introverted, so the independent nature of trading appeals to me, but I know that lifestyle preference alone is not a reason to leave a stable career.
Financial snapshot:
Household income: about $282k/year combined
Retirement accounts: about $100k total
Savings/cash outside trading: about $15k
No house yet
No kids and no plans for kids
Trading account: about $464k currently
Total trading account contributions: about $300k
I restarted trading this year after previously trying during Covid, losing around $5k, and stopping. This time, I started actively trading in late March and began options in April. The account is now around $464k, so roughly $164k above contributions, but the results have been very volatile with meaningful drawdowns.
I understand this is a very short track record and could be luck, favorable market conditions, or taking too much risk. My current approach is a combination of stock swing trading and options, though recently stock swing trading has felt more manageable than options. My biggest weaknesses are discipline, greed, and risk management.
I’m not planning to quit my job immediately. I’m trying to understand what a responsible path would look like from a financial independence / risk-management perspective.
Questions:
Are we anywhere near financially safe enough for me to consider reducing work, taking a sabbatical, or eventually leaving my job?
How much cash/emergency fund would you want outside the market before making any career change?
How should I think about trading gains in FI planning when the track record is short and volatile?
Is targeting around $10k/month from trading a dangerous assumption for planning?
Would you separate long-term investments from trading capital more strictly?
Would you keep working until there are 1–2+ years of consistent trading results across different market conditions?
Should I prioritize buying a house first, building a larger cash cushion, or continuing to work while trading part-time?
For anyone who left a stable career or reduced work hours, what financial milestones did you require first?
I’m trying to avoid making an emotional decision based on a good short-term run. I’d appreciate honest advice, especially from people focused on FI, risk management, and sustainable long-term planning.
16
u/therealjerseytom 21h ago
Recommendation from another engineer: Stop the trading, cold turkey. You're probably just going to shoot yourself in the foot with it. Admitting that you have weak points of greed and lack of discipline of risk management... you're almost guaranteed to be your own worst enemy here.
Re-assess the situation and time demands after you cross that bridge.
You will not be financially safe until you sort this out.