Last week I went to the general information meeting for the traders club at Baruch College. Since before the semester, I wanted to join the club for its learning experience inside a stock trading computer lab and its real life application after college. The meeting was an eye-opening experience; I walked in and saw a handful of students dressed in full suits and overheard people talking about their internships over the summer, I already felt like I was behind. It was clear that I was probably one of a handful of freshman. I met a few juniors and seniors and spent the whole meeting writing as much down as possible to make sure I didn’t miss any information. Over the course of the two hours I learned how to use the trading software, Rotman Interactive Trader, and how it will be used in future trading meetings and events. Luckily I can use it on my home computer and practice for the next meeting. I met with an old member of the club and he told us about what it takes to succeed in this club. He explained how he joined the club with absolutely no background experience but with working at home he developed the skills to join the club at the MIT competition where they finished ahead of countless prestigious colleges last year. I plan on following in his footsteps, especially on a coding background. Coding is an important part of stocks but learning it would not just benefit me for the club but for jobs in the future. Overall the experience matched my expectations. I knew I wasn’t an expert on trading and that I had a lot to learn but meeting junior and seniors in the same position let me know that I wasn’t alone and that starting early is a great step to being ahead of the pack.