I agree with you on the new trader. Usually a experienced trader does not start with 5 grand. Most of the experienced ones come in with 20 or more. I would hope if they are a new trader they are taking some kind of courses and getting plenty of education.
You are saying experienced traders begin with at least 20K or more. I am not trying to be rude but, if they are experienced traders then they are not beginning or starting. Please explain as I must of misunderstood.
5k is not enough... anybody who trades below 50k will have 95% chances to end with a closed account. I have worked as broker for a long time and i can tell you that this is the true, i've seen what happens to small accounts. If you doubt this you will end fast. Don't trade futures and forex with a 5K account!!!! that's pure suicide. If you want to trade, try some position trading in value stocks. It's the safe way to trade with small accounts.
This thread has reinforced a valuable lesson: No matter what your idea/goal/dream is, there is someone, somewhere who will try to knock it down. Usually because if it isn't something they can accomplish, they don't want anyone to accomplish it. If someone had asked, "Is $100,000 enough to start trading", I imagine the responses would have been eerily similar... There are oodles of stories of people who have started with less in all kinds of entreprenuerial (sp?) endeavors and made it. Get your glasses half full folks!
That's my opinion... I know that 5k isn't enough. But if you asked, if 100k is enough. I would say: Spend 50k educating yourself and start trading with the remaining 50k. I think that you will have a chance to succeed.
If you did that I'd say you blew about $48,000 or so more than you need to "educating yourself". With $2,000 you could probably buy almost every book ever written on day trading. Regardless of the amount you start trading with, there will most likely be a learning curve. You must accept the likelyhodd that you will lose money before you figure out the best trading strategy/method for you. The less you start with and lose during this process the better. If you start with $100,000, you are more likely to stretch those funds and lose big while learing. If you start with $5,000 - $10,000, you are keeping the size of the positions you can take and the amount you can lose to a minimum.
I would suggest that you look a little harder in order to learn your 'valuable lessons'. trying to start trading with 5 k (ie trying to start and maintain a career trading with 5 k ) is like trying to get to the moon by bottling farts as a primary power source. Thus it has nothing to do with glasses being half full or half empty. As for not wanting others to do it, you're damn right I don't want others to do it. Closed systems, remember. I suggest you trip along with life a little bit more before you start pontificating your junior philosophies.