I don't normally post many replies on ET because I disagree with many comments from ET traders. Many ET members are either new or not making decent money. When I say decent, I meant traders who are making over $100K a year. My advice to you is to follow your dream. But first of all, you have to save enough money for a year or two. Find out what types of market you would like to trade: equities, forex, etc. Learn as much as possible from reading books and paper trade. Once you have a strategy that is profitable, put it to work. Just dont jump into trading right away without being knowledgeable about the markets. If you work full time and trade part time, you will never reach your goal. You have to put all your effort and energy into trading. Trading is a full time business. If you wanted to be successful, then you have to put in the time. You cannot think like some of the ET members in here thinking that if you don't succeed in trading, you can fallback on your IT job. You have to want to succeed. Your mindset has to be strong. Trading has alot to do with psychology. Good luck!
Sure trading size pay's more per hour...but isn't it all about yield? In equities... fills and liquidity become a problem, but most retail spot forex traders... do not face this with forex. Michael B.
So if only 5% make it i.e. out of a population of 6.5 billion, that 325 million geniuses (including myself) who are running the world, what is the plan to shepherd the other 6.475 billion people? Or do we wait another 50 years and hope somebody else has one, when all hell breaks loose. One thing I know is that Almighty gave humans a brain to think so we can find solutions to the problems that are set for us, not to keep on going back to Almighty for a nappy change each time we decide to shit ourselves stupid. P.S. I hope the solution is not the one Sadam Hussein opted for! http://nightingaleconant.com/a~Author~Dennis_Higgins_John_LaTourrette.asp
Thanks for your honest thread. Yeah, we're all (or at least, a lot of us) are sick of the bullshit and politicking required to maintain a job with folks you know are looking to see how much work they can get out of, not trying to max out their human potential, as our friend has posted (right before this one). It's no surprise that you don't want that life for yourself. The great thing about your situation (and one that definitely gives you an edge over your US counterpart), is that you live in an economic environment that is designed to support you, not one where you play a game of who's getting over on whom - it's called straight-up capitalism. If you also have a supportive network of family, friends, significant other, etc., that will definitely help the cause. Keep the job, stash away the cash, and trade during the evening hours. Start small and earn your right to trade large size (but as most here have mentioned, work, study and SIM your butt-off, constantly working and honing your skill(z)) before you commit one thin dime. You certainly have everything going for you in your attempt to achieve this goal. Best Regards, Jimmy Jam
Thanks for your uplifting words Jimmy Jam! I'm learning alot from this thread. Much is obvious, but sometimes you don't see the obvious things yourself, but need someone to point them out. Of course I won't quit my job until I'm profitable in trading. When I am profitable I might just get a part time job or something for a while until I'm sure I can make it on my own and the money I make trading is enough for my life without having to work. Thanks!
Another paradox of the markets is that they are difficult to master if you do not make yourself a full time student of them. However, making yourself a full time student of the market means quitting your paying job to study a field which may or may not ever yield any money for you. From the Wyckoff book on tape reading: You might be urged to say: "Yes, but these are rare examples. The average man or woman never makes a success of day trading by reading moment by moment transactions of the market." Right you are! The average man or woman seldom makes a success of anything! That is true of trading stocks, business endeavours or even hobbies! Success in day trading usually results from years of painstaking effort and absolute concentration upon the subject. It requires the devotion of one's whole time and attention to - the tape. He should have no other business or profession. "A man cannot serve two masters," and the tape is a tyrant. One cannot become a Tape Reader by giving the ticker absent treatment, nor by running into his broker's office after lunch, or seeing "how the market closed" from his evening newspaper. He cannot study this art from the far end of a telephone wire. He should spend twenty-seven hours a week or more at a ticker, and many more hours away from it studying his mistakes and finding the "why" of his losses.
Well said tradertony76. This is what I've been saying all alone. You have to put all your time and effort into trading inorder to succeed. If you think you have a backup plan, which you should, you will not succeed in trading. Trust me. Been there and done that.
Well said!!! It seems like people just want success without effort. Trading is one of the hardest/complex things to ever learn. But if you can understand it, you can make a lot of money and having the BEST job on the planet. There's one problem though, the market is always changing and traders always have to adjust. If you don't, you'll become a dying breed.