Trading is a job — not a bet.
TradingIsAJob helps traders tell a real prop firm from a paid simulation before they pay. We read the firms' own terms, apply one published methodology to all of them, and show where each firm stands.
Why this site exists. Most "prop firms" you see in ads sell challenges. After you pass, many of them put you on a simulated account, so every payout comes from the firm's own pocket. Real prop firms work the other way: they trade live capital, and your profit is their profit. Most rating sites put both kinds in one list. We separate them.
Who is behind it
The site was started by a former prop firm insider:
- Trader. About five years trading US stocks on the NYSE, growing from $10,000 of buying power and a $10 daily stop to $1.5 million of buying power and a $1,500 daily stop.
- Risk manager. Several years watching traders' risk day by day: setting limits, cutting them after losses, deciding when a trader had to stop.
- Head of office. Recorded training videos, led marketing for a time, then ran the operations of the trading office.
All of this was at a real-capital prop firm, from 2019. He has since left and is not employed by or invested in any firm in our rating.
What we do
- Rate firms by whose money you trade first, then by real risk, career path, payouts and price — see the methodology.
- Link every fact to its source: the firm's terms, rules pages, regulator registers.
- Log rule changes with dates on each firm's page.
- Offer a free Check your prop firm tool that works without naming the firm.
What we don't do
- We don't sell places in the rating or change scores for money.
- We don't put affiliate links on red-zone firms.
- We don't hide our affiliate links: see How we make money.
Contact
Corrections, questions, firm replies: hello@tradingisajob.com.