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While Americans brace for the threat of automation and the fear that computers will take over their jobs, one industry in particular has already seen a seismic shift--Wall Street trading. The past decade has seen thousands of jobs eliminated with algorithmic trading replacing humans. One example--the once boisterous floor of the NYSE has gone from its 1980's heyday of around 5500 traders to a few hundred (if that). Once a high-paying ticket to instant wealth and early retirement, many traders found themselves out of work. "The industry has almost been completely taken over by computers, so most people needed to totally reinvent themselves," says former trader Mark McCooey, now a wealth manager at Morgan Stanley.
So what's next after the trading floor? Here, five former traders who left the industry for a variety of reasons, not just automation, share how they transitioned into totally new careers.
Trudi Wagner
Trading days: I grew up in the hospitality business, but I wanted to test myself to see if I could handle Wall Street. As a life long athlete, the adrenaline of the New York Stock Exchange was my fix. I held a seat on the Exchange as a Vice President in Equities at Goldman Sachs & Co.
Reason for leaving: My departure from the trading floor was the advent of electronic trading. When I started in 2000, there were 56 Goldman employees on the trading floor. Today, there are maybe one or two left. When those final days came in 2007, I was ready for change. I just didn't know what it was. However, the financial world was falling apart at that time, which made it an even easier decision to never go back.
Next chapter: Currently, I am the co-owner of two businesses in Charleston, South Carolina. goat.sheep.cow. and goat.sheep.cow., north. We sell a curated selection of artisanal cheese, charcuterie, wine and gourmet grocery items, plus we have a café and wine bar.
Pivot process: goat.sheep.cow is the result of my friendship with my business partner Patricia Floersheimer. We met when she was co-owner of a bottle shop that I frequented when I lived in New Jersey. In 2007, I decided to work for Patty on a part time basis to learn the foundation of the business. It was at this time that Patty was in the process of selling her home and wanted to move to Charleston. We were both tired of New Jersey and ready for an adventure. In 2009, we moved, and walked, ran, ate and drank every inch of the city to understand the neighborhoods in our market research. We launched goat.sheep.cow in early 2011 with 80% cheese and 20% wine.
Goodbye to all that: I miss the people and certainly the paycheck of my former life, but not the politics of the corporate world. Goldman was like swimming in a shark tank daily. Getting into Goldman was a feat and you pedaled hard to stay there. The endless politics were draining though, and I felt it brought out the worst in some people.
Financial reality: I make way less now than I did as a trader, but I'm my own boss and that's priceless.
Hurdles: The biggest challenge to the food business, besides very tight margins, is personnel, or lack there of. All restaurants are short on staffing and it's an endless cycle of always hiring and training and having people move on.
Job perks: I am happy that I get to work with my best friend in a business that we built from the ground up. I love seeing and talking to my customers and helping my employees. Among many things, I encourage them to save money and exercise financial discipline because there surely will be rainy days.
Mark J. McCooey
Trading days: I was the COO of The Griswold Company, Inc on the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Many people from my family also worked on the Floor, including my Dad, uncles, and cousins.
Reason for leaving: Electronic trading emerged and the emphasis shifted to the speed of execution. Additionally, the percentage of the domestic order flow being done on the NYSE dropped precipitously. After 25 years of a very successful business, we decided to shut it down.
Next chapter: I am a currently a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley.
Pivot process: I was lucky enough to have a broader experience at my company than just being a floor broker which helped. When I left the floor, I held a multitude of roles, culminating in becoming the COO of our firm. Some of my responsibilities included running the company’s retirement plan, sales and client management, human resources, and helping manage a small private equity fund. All these experiences allowed me to make a seamless transition into being a Financial Advisor where I am performing many of the same jobs
Goodbye to all that: What I miss the most about the trading floor is the camaraderie. When it was slow you had the opportunity to really get to know people and build strong, life-long friendships.
Financial reality: I knew from friends in wealth management that it would take three to five years of very hard work to build my book while I wouldn’t be making a lot of money. I knew I was making a huge bet on myself and there wasn't a lot of room for error. For the first few years, I was making substantially less than I made when working for our family firm. What nobody tells you is that the majority of people who embark on a career as a Financial Advisor, fail, so every day you are employed and continue to build your book of business should be looked at as a successful day.
Hurdles: This job does have one monstrous challenge however—raising assets. It is difficult to ask people, you don't know, for their hard-earned money and ask them to trust you.
Job perks: What I love is putting a plan together for my clients and watching their hopes and dreams come to fruition down the road. I have one client who was able to double the price range of houses she was looking to buy, all because of the investments I made for her portfolio in just two years.
Jamie Kutch
Trading days: I was a NASDAQ Trader for Merrill Lynch. I loved the rush of making, and or losing as much money as many made in a year in minutes. At that point in my life, I was young, willing to wear a suit every day to work and thought success was based upon salary. I was starkly wrong and after 9/11, made the change to pursue a much richer life and I don’t mean financially.
Reason for leaving: My decision to pursue this path came from years of feeling like I was on a hamster wheel. I burned out from trying to gain status and playing the corporate shell game and trying to move up the ladder.
Next chapter: Today I am the owner of Kutch Wines. I produce California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the ridges of the Sonoma Coast. My office space is in various vineyards. Instead of halogen lights overhead, I look up to the sky. I have replaced charts and Excel for weather maps.
Pivot process: The change from Wall Street to Pinot Noir was fast. I networked with a winemaker and said in an email that he was living my dream. His response was to come out to California and he would assist me with starting a wine brand I could call my own. He told me that if things worked, it would be one of the best decisions of my life ,and if not, I could go back to my corporate life. He ended by saying how unwise it would be to reflect upon this in later years and never take a leap of faith. With that, I packed one bag and booked a flight.
Goodbye to all that: I don’t miss much from my former life. The order of what I do miss is: family, friends, pizza, bagels and taxi cabs. That’s it! When they say the West is the best, it seriously is true.
Financial reality: It took eight years for me to surpass my best financial year on Wall Street and over 14 years making wine and starting my company, I have only grown financially and never taken a step backwards. I am so proud and happy to rule my own destiny, and to no longer make money for a bank but to make a tangible product that brings so enjoyment to so many.
Current life: I am most rewarded being in a vineyard just after the sun comes up, walking through rows of vines and watching the grapes ripen through a season. Weather, farming choices and decisions in the winery clearly impact the result, and nothing is greater than making those decisions. The challenge is only getting one chance a year to perform and make a great wine.
Tom Shafer
Trading days: My father was a specialist on the exchange. He passed away in 1980, when I was 16. At his wake I asked his boss for a job—I wanted to do what my dad did. The next summer I worked as an intern and I worked there every summer throughout college came back in 1980. I ended up becoming a Managing Partner and worked for 20 years for Lyden, Dolan, Nick & Co.
Reason for leaving: The writing was on the wall thanks to electronic trading. As soon as we went to penny increments it was obvious it would be hard to continue the revenue stream that we knew. I left in 2007, but the problem is it wasn’t early enough. I played golf for a few months and then 2008 happened and it was every man and woman for themselves.
Next chapter: It was clear to me I had to reinvent myself. I sold my house, decided to get liquid and figure it out. I went to Millinocket, Maine where my great grandfather bought land in 1902. I worked building a cabin for $5000 a month, living on the island for three months with no cell service. It was a really cathartic time and it allowed me to get over myself. I told myself that I worked up from the bottom once and I knew I could do it again. I saw an opportunity to start a business with perfectly preserved old growth timber and reclaimed wood from the bottom of the Penobscot River and started Maine Heritage Timber. We are a river reclaimed millwork manufacturer.
Pivot process: My former partner and I secured the rights to a lake with a 30 year supply of old growth wood from when Bangor, Maine was the lumber capital of the world. We raised money not knowing what we were going to do with this natural resource. We made flooring. We did a little design and build. About three years in, I launched a product called Timberchic—a thin, peel and stick, real wood design product that's been very successful.
Goodbye to all that: I really miss the camaraderie, the getting to the office really having strong relationships with a lot of people, but I don’t miss New York City. Everyone has this romantic idea of life in a small town, and it’s true.
Financial reality: You don’t get successful in a new industry in a year. Reinventing yourself isn’t easy and you need to get humbled. I had to focus on what it means to create longevity in a different space. Hopefully I am building something for my kids and for our town. I worked hard to find an investment base that could think outside the box. We have raised over seven million so far. This is the first year we will be profitable. My goal is between 15 and 20 million a year in revenue.
Current life: We have 23 employees which is a big company in a small rural middle of nowhere town. I love that we have a product that is made in Maine, there is ownership involved in that. We all take pride in what we do. It is also a green product, and that's very important to us. We save 1000 acres of forest from being cut every year. I wake up every morning and I am so excited for the day.
Evan Golub
Trading days: I was fascinated with the hedge fund industry while studying in college and always wanted to surround myself with and be challenged by some of the brightest minds, which is why I worked in the industry for 13 years across three well-respected funds. Most recently, I sat on the trading desk at Falcon Edge Capital where I helped with trade execution, equity finance and risk management.
Reason for leaving: My departure from the hedge fund industry was related to my personal health journey which shifted my focus. In January of 2013, I woke up with a horrible case of vertigo and disequilibrium, which progressed into chronic illness. Over the course of the next four years, I was misdiagnosed by 30 practitioners, including ENTs, neurologists, otolaryngologists, allergists, optometrists and ophthalmologists. They chalked my symptoms up to inner ear infections or vestibular migraines, while some practitioners even told me it was all in my head. Finally, in February 2017, I received a proper diagnosis of Lyme disease. I have since dedicated my life to getting smart on the condition, the natural ways to heal from it and have built a community of more than 100 Lyme buddies many of whom I was able to help through their battles.
Next chapter: I realized my knowledge about chronic illness was providing support and guidance to those who needed it, and I felt this information and guidance could be scaled. As someone who spent four frustrating years receiving misdiagnoses, I know that many people with Lyme and other invisible conditions feel alone and confused. That fueled my determination to provide an accessible and information-rich resource powered by human connection. I’m now building Wana, a digital platform to connect people with chronic, modern and invisible conditions. Wana stands for ‘We Are Not Alone’ because my partner and I are committed that no one should ever have to feel alone again on their journey.
Pivot process: I partnered with my closest Lyme buddy, Nicole Krinick, hired a digital agency and built a minimum viable product. We beta tested the MVP with 40 of our Lyme buddies and found that people were matching, messaging, and enjoying the community. Shortly after meeting on Wana, two of our users took a trip to Miami to try an innovative healing modality, supporting one another for the week. That was something that proved our product and market fit and gave me the confidence to take the leap.
Goodbye to all that: I miss my team members, who felt more like family than colleagues. But I was happy to trade those interactions and my Bloomberg terminal for the opportunity to help a wider audience.
Financial reality: The hedge fund industry is a very high margin business and comparing its compensation structure to any other field is like justifying the price of a $15 cocktail. I make much less now. That said, I feel fortunate to now have the opportunity to work on something that I’m personally passionate about.
Current life: I love the freedom, flexible schedule, and always being on-the-go. They say sitting is the new smoking and it certainly wasn’t helping my health. Now, I’m constantly mobile - one minute I’m at a lunch meeting in SoHo, next I’m sitting with our developers in Dumbo, then I’m rushing to an investor meeting in Flatiron while taking calls between each destination. Having sat in a chair for 13 years, I now really appreciate being on the move.
