I coud use a little help here. I would like to be a full time trader sooner rather than later from graduating college. First, would you recommend a part-time job and only trading two or three days a week OR a nightshift job which allows for full time trading? Also, what respectable night jobs are out there for a person with a B. Admin and Finance Degree. (minor Information Technology). I can't really think of anything other than sales jobs during the night. Thanks RT
Here is my advice and it comes from part of my experience. First, cover your expenses and standard of living. Expect no money from trading, your best focus will be on the skill of trading. If you have never made a lot of money before, then you may need to work on that issue and have to find a way. If you are not used to losing money, even if its to ultimately win, that takes adjustment and work as well. Cover your living expenses with an outside job. Then pick a trading system (method and time allocation) that you can fit into that life. Earn a good return, build up an account. Your account that (equity) you build on your allocated time will tell you when you can be a professional trader, when you won't have to work an outside job and when trading covers your expenses. Trading is like a sport. Great athletes in most sports start out playing for fun as they develop their skills. If Micheal Jordan would have gone pro in high school, he would have been broke. (He didn't make his high school team his first year). Think of how many years athletes spend playing for no money, while they eat on their parents' coaches or managment companies tab. It takes time to develop high leverage skills (trading, athletics, music). While some may disagree (cause I know many traders who put all the pressure on themselves to sink or swim) and say that its best to HAVE to make money, more that I know that went that way have sunk a few times...its a rocky road. Thats just my experience....so I'll pass it along to you. There are many ways to skin this cat, however. Keep it fun and stay on top of your finances while you learn. If you do that, even if your first trading plan fails, you will find it not very difficult to make a new plan and begin againg. PA
I would suggest a night job that allows you to watch the market during trading hours. I've been in your position (many years ago) and felt that it wasn't possible to get a good feel for the market on a part time basis.
Get any job you can that involves trading eg. order taker, etc. ,. This way you have the exposure. Plus your mind isn't cluttered with other obsolete nonsense. Trade during your off hours.
thanks for the advice! any comments on night shift jobs? I can only come up with simple sales stuff or manual labor....I can't find anything that would require a degree.
Parking cars pays really well for part time if you are in the right place, a high end restaurant or something like that. Waiting tables can be lucrative but strenuous. Take your time is my advice, it is going to take time to learn to trade on your own. If you can get in a prop firm with training it might take a lot less time but you will have to pony up some of your hard earned $. Check with some brokerages and hedge funds, they might need somebody to babysit their trading systems.
I really should send this in a PM, but what the heck.... I delivered pizza with a master's degree and traded during the day. On really bad days I can see driving my beat up nissan for tips in my future.
Get a job at a helpdesk. There's always entry level positions available for late afternoon and overnight shifts. An IT minor should be enough to get you in the door. The pays not that bad either and provides access to a computer for market research.
Get a "real" job during the deal and trade at night. The US equity market is dead anyways. All the real money is made at night.