Funny you should say that. I was thinking the same thing that trading is a battlefield and we can get emotionally beaten up at times. So having a job unrelated to the markets is a different setting altogether with a different kind of stress. Maybe a whole lot less? Bows and Arrows don;t always work, waving the white flag will do too .
Don't know if you could do this...Just a pipe dream. Very Feng Shui...Have your trading location be in small room surrounded by many trees (pines, fruit, nuts) and bushes. Have beautiful landscaping by the house. Your trading at home becomes the relaxing respite for the day...No dragon slaying there. The client is work and as such he/she directs your movement...But if allowed, see if Skype can be brought into the picture. Have your meetings at your house. I have a feeling landscaping and trading will become more and more important for our psyche. Don't know your situation...Just thinking how some people trade...Some locked in the room (no distractions), their coffee (maybe a dog or cat)...But no outside disturbance. Birds singing, your daughter playing may help with the mental side of planning your trades...Just an idea. Cabin111
No. Trading is very easy when you know what you are doing, why you are doing, and how you are doing. It is more boredom then slaying.
Timothy Sykes and other day traders try to shoot for a $500.00 per day goal. If you do that each trading day, you can expect to make six figures atleast! That is what they say. They probably are right about it too. I do not see any reason for the day traders to lie on that issue. You are probably, a way better trader than I am. Not everyone can be a day trader. Position trading can give you larger gains but, you do have large drawdowns too. By being a day trader, you have to settle for smaller gains but, smaller drawdowns on the plus side.
I know what you are saying. The problem is that people assume that they will get a fixed amount of $$ trading every day. The distribution of P&L is never uniform. There's a lot of variances(on the plus and minus side). For now, it's better for me to have the stability of a consulting job plus side trading as a bonus. Even if I make 6 figures trading on the side(as in the example above), it's still too risky to go full-time. IMHO. Because that's a lot of stress and variability. Whereas in most tech jobs(or analytics consulting), one can easily make over low 6 figures. I know there's risk in a job with layoffs, etc. I've been through a few in Corporate America. Or consulting assignments ending. Been through those too. But my point is if you show up and do what's required of you then that payment is secured while it lasts. Best analogy is like a portfolio. A job/consulting is like bond that pays fixed but high interest every 2 weeks. Trading on the side is like stock or futures in your portfolio that has higher variance but also higher returns. Better to have both instruments in your "career portfolio." The bonds for stability and peace of mind. Trading on the side for the upside. trader99
Keep your job and trade part time. That is the best way for you in my opinion. Later on, if you are able to trade for larger profits then, you can revisit and maybe, change your mind.
Agreed. If I ever get to make $4K-$5K/day then obviously I would change my mind about trading full-time. I'm not there yet...