ammo, I agree most new traders entering the scene don't know what they are doing. 3-5 years to get profitable is my guess. A lot of money spent for the education to become a full time pro trader. Most traders do forget, or do not have knowledge about the important aspect of money management in trading. They get the picture after a few blown up accounts and a lot of pain along the way. Account protection is also not used the way it should. I'm surprised that so few traders bring this so important subject up, it's crucial to get educated how it works. I think a lot of borderline winner/losers can cross over to the winning side if they implant account protection in their trading plan. Have a look at the short video below, it show how easy it is to lock in profit and minimize the loss. VIDEO: How to protect your trading account.
Trade stocks in play, make a plan, and most importantly, follow the plan. Also it helps immensely to know how a stock you're trading trades. What I mean by that is watch it's movements intra-day before trading via video replay or something.