Anyone can become a trader. What you mean is the probability that you can become a profitable daytrader? Assuming you are coming into this with zero knowledge and experience. It'll take you a very long time. For example, there are a few ET members here that are in their 10th, 15th, or 20th year and still not profitable. There was even one guy who was here in his 30th year and not profitable but trying to sell his system.
there are many floor traders who failed at being upstairs traders. skill sets are not exactly transferable.
Lol - I hear you, but I also spent many years as a self-employed trader, telling myself exactly that, and believing it. But it turned out that I was wrong (from my own perspective, anyway), and I ended up wishing I'd made the move earlier ... though I don't really know whether I'd have been able to, to be honest. Good question - I think probably stuff about your background, career to date, educational resources, etc. It's more or less obvious, overall, for example, (though some do misguidedly try to deny it!) that people with a previous history of successful self-employment and self-responsibility, and people with qualifications/experience in math/statistics/probability really are likely to encounter a deck that's rather less adversely stacked against themselves than is so for many others. This is also true - both ways around, I think.
Most people who try fail and the few who don't fail are most likely not exceeding the performance of a simple buy and hold strategy. Further, I'd guess that most people trying this are above average in terms of intellect and ambitions. Not sure what your background is, but you're most likely better of pursuing something else. If not, I'd rather recommend that you swing trade/position trade and spend your effort working extra hours that you can keep depositing into your trading account (assuming it's actually profitable). Over 10 years with compounding of profits this will be MONEY. Pursuing day trading, you're more likely to spend 5-10 years with only debt to show for.
Trading will give you the opportunity to learn how the stock market works?? Would you recommend someone take up bridge building so they can learn Newtonian physics?
I tend to agree, it's one of the more difficult and stressful careers unless you're a genius. It's portrayed as sitting on a beach and making money with your laptop but the reality is often about stressed weekends filled with concern and worry during drawdowns. People underestimate the emotional strain losses put on you. Regarding your age, it will probably take you 5-7 years to achieve any kind of smooth and organized form of daytrading and there are no guarantees you'd make it. Are you okay with being 38 and starting another career while being financially unstable?
Since you provided no information about your education and work experience, I assume you have no specific knowledge or qualities that qualify you for a career as a day trader. The odds of you making it are about as high as you becoming a rock star. Forget about it and focus on getting a degree or learning a trade, that is in high demand, to make a decent living.
Excellent post !!! Fifteen years ago I would have said yes with much study and money you have a fair to slim chance of learning to day trade and expect to make 100-250k a year. But now with advent of almost every profitable larger day trader on different forms of automation and HFTs, hedge funds, it is very few become profitable after handful of years. People especially in USA lack dedication to study years without knowing if they are going down right paths and most buy courses, expensive materials or schools for not. Think in this way, if you knew how to trade, what you make in couple hours is much more than those who sell courses, and if the courses worked, they wouldn't be wasting time teaching others. People who mentor for free or next to free are few and far between cause they can get direction of what works for them, but you still going to need 10,000 to 20,000 hours of screen time. And if you lucky enough for them to teach you a method, there are so much you need to learn to make trading like breathing, you stop thinking about what to do, you have become automatic subconsciously take action. If I had to think about learning to trade now, I never try it. Believe it or not, long term trading produces the most millionaires, less fees, you have all night to think about putting on one position and then go to a job you love so you have outside income coming in. If you lack education, learn to program, can help big time for trading. Good luck.