Bonus 8 - Midterm Checkup - JJ Leath

            I’m doing alright this semester. I have all A’s in my classes, so that’s fine. I unfortunately have not made as much professional progress as I would have liked to. This is my first semester back after dropping out of the University of Arkansas, so I think I underestimated the amount of time that school would take out of my days. I have an idea of an algorithmic trading system, but I haven’t been able to work on it much due to school and work. Further, I have an idea for a software company that uses a dynamic correlation equation that I wrote along with predictive geometry to assist the retail trading industry in timing trades and executing orders. I think that it could have a huge impact, but I haven’t had time get it off of the ground.

            While the professional strain has been annoying, I have learned a great deal this semester. That is what is most important. If I felt like I wasn’t learning, I’d probably drop out again. I came into this semester knowing hardly anything about computers, programming, or data science. These three weaknesses have caused me a lot of professional strife. This weakness is one of the reasons I decided to return to school. My programming skills are finally to the point where I am able to create programs to observe data through the CQG platform. Further, I have started building my own computer that will use neuron-powered chips instead of binary chips. I am also now proficient in data science. I have learned enough where I am now able to write my own equations to describe market phenomenon and develop algorithms to uncover profitable strategies in the market. My skill development has been what I have been most proud of this semester.

            There isn’t a whole lot that I would change about this semester. I have become too socially involved. When I was in New York and Chicago, I knew nobody. This solitude allowed me to get a lot done. As I have returned home, I am reunited with old friends and have made new friends while at UMKC. This is great, and I am very grateful for the people in my life, but I am having a hard time striking a balance between my life and my social circles. I need to get better at this.

            As far as goals go, I have to be careful. I have too often made grandiose goals that are impossible to achieve, and then I become depressed when I fail to meet those goals. So, if I am being practical, my professional goals will not be accomplished by the end of the semester. I would like to get further, so I will say I will strive to have the skeleton of the program I want to sell to retail traders done by May 9^th. Further, I will strive to have the algorithm for my algorithmic trading system completely finished by May 9^th. I will also maintain my grades at A’s for the rest of the semester. Most importantly, I would like the skills to develop UIs from scratch and make data diagrams in Python by the end of the semester. These are all of my long-term goals. As far as short-term goals go, my main one is to get everything planned for London. I am moving to London for the summer to work at another prop firm, so I need to get everything planned for that ASAP. I hope to accomplish everything that I am wanting to, but even more, I hope that I won’t be too hard on myself if I fail to do everything I am wanting to.