Should I take the leap and quit my job to trade full-time?

The following was on another thread:

1. We accumulate information – buying books, going to seminars and researching.
2. We begin to trade with our ‘new’ knowledge.
3. We consistently ‘donate’ and then realize we may need more knowledge or information.
4. We accumulate more information.
5. We switch the commodities we are currently following.
6. We go back into the market and trade with our ‘updated’ knowledge.
7. We get ‘beat up’ again and begin to lose some of our confidence.

Fear starts setting in.

8. We start to listen to ‘outside news’ and to other traders.
9. We go back into the market and continue to ‘donate’.
10. We switch commodities again.
11. We search for more information.
12. We go back into the market and start to see a little progress.
13. We get ‘over-confident’ and the market humbles us.
14. We start to understand that trading successfully is going to take more time and more knowledge than we anticipated.

Most people will give up at this point, as they realize work is involved.

15. We get serious and start concentrating on learning a ‘real’ methodology.
16. We trade our methodology with some success, but realize that something is missing.
17. We begin to understand the need for having rules to apply our methodology.
18. We take a sabbatical from trading to develop and research our trading rules.
19. We start trading again, this time with rules and find some success, but over all we still hesitate when it comes time to execute.
20. We add, subtract and modify rules as we see a need to be more proficient with our rules.
21. We feel we are very close to crossing that threshold of successful trading.
22. We start to take responsibility for our trading results as we understand that our success is in us, not the methodology.
23. We continue to trade and become more proficient with our methodology and our rules.
24. As we trade we still have a tendency to violate our rules and our results are still erratic.
25. We know we are close.
26. We go back and research our rules.
27. We build the confidence in our rules and go back into the market and trade.
28. Our trading results are getting better, but we are still hesitating in executing our rules.
29. We now see the importance of following our rules as we see the results of our trades when we don’t follow the rules.
30. We begin to see that our lack of success is within us (a lack of discipline in following the rules because of some kind of fear), and we begin to work on knowing ourselves better.
31. We continue to trade and the market teaches us more and more about ourselves.
32. We master our methodology and our trading rules.
33. We begin to consistently make money.
34. We get a little over-confident and the market humbles us.
35. We continue to learn our lessons.
36. We stop thinking and allow our rules to trade for us (trading becomes boring, but successful) and our trading account continues to grow as we increase our contract size.
37. We are making more money than we ever dreamed possible.
38. We go on with our lives and accomplish many of the goals we had always dreamed of.

 

Wow, that list is so accurate it is scary man! Is it really the same for everyone? I read the technical analysis books (If the trend is up buy, or sell if it's down) and that didn't work obviously. I started right around the end of april and the trend was up when I immediately put on a huge and leveraged position in several stocks haha Almost exactly hit the top with that (off by 0.5% or so) Thinking back to that moment I cannot but laugh and wonder if I'll ever think back to this moment and feel the same. I hope so.

I think I'm around step 19-21, I definitely went through all the steps listed there so I hope the following steps will be accurate to the list also.

I can so well remember making 6000 euro (on a 11k account) in a matter of 5 days because I made that plunging call I was 100% certain of and the index actually managed to rise 10%, and then losing most of it again on stupid trades that I wasn't at all sure of but took anyway. If a predator chased every potential prey he came across, then he would not have the energy to catch the ones he actually might.

Succes is indeed in the trader and not the methodology. It makes sense, but to really grasp that you need to experience it. The worst thing for a trader is probably to be hugely succesful right from the get-go, because, unless he quits, he will probably do worse over the long haul than the one who makes mistakes and overcomes them. Look at all the bubble boys who bursted (into tears) after '00. Tim Sykes anyone? If you watched the WW show, you could see the guy had no method and really not the composition of a real trader at all, just because he thought he was the shit right from the start.

To the OP, I think now is really an ideal time to start. It's a pretty tough market (imo) because there are big risks at play, especially in Europe. If you make it through this and you're still financially alive after two years of intensive risk taking, you may become a profitable trader.

But like I said before, I don't see the point in becoming a trader unless the market fascinates you on a deep fundamental (perhaps even spiritual if you're into that) level and you're not just looking to make money. If you're not that type, keep the job. The ability to make money in the market really doesn't depend on finding the right tool, system or whatever. It depends on finding yourself.


Well so much for my ramble. I'm still not recovered from all the losses I've incurred in the first months of trading, but I hope a tiny bit of my history and the insights I've had during my relatively brief trading period help you make a decision.

 

From what I can say this list is true and reflects the work needed to be put in, it's really hard to tell where you are yourself at the present moment in time, you see it better looking back lol.
... I know a few guys that are at 37, I am not there (yet) lol

 

Much like the market itself

 

I'm at 35 and hoping 36 doesn't take another 2-3 years :eek:

 

Good list. So, where is the part where the guy ran out of money and have to get several jobs to survive and save up enough capital to continue the journey?

 

isn't that one part of the sabbatical lol see number 18
a more serious reply: trade micro-accounts untill you got somewhat an idea what you are doing. Nothing bad happens to you if you blow up a few hundred quid. I've blown more than a few of those accounts ...

 

I would suggest if 7k is 3 months living expenses you move somewhere cheaper - I would suggest Bulgaria / Romania. Takes the pressure off and gives you time to learn. In countries like this life is very cheap and if you are an EU citizen no visa problems!

Odds arnt good for you but if you do it slowly and calmly you can make it.

 

As simple as that.

 

besides wondering what the op's employment/work may be there's also a question
of age and marital status and whether there's any children, tho doesn't sound so

I wonder how many people have a gambling enzyme in them, and odd cell or two
that attracts them to daytrading, and daytrading volatile instruments

"I miss the open and potentially the best moves of the day" no longer true of 24 hr mkts

op, why do you want to trade ?
where did the idea to do so come from ?
why daytrade ?

I think trading fx Day-to-Days is ideal for working people and people with families
minimum financial capital/exposure requirement, no increase in o/n margin
5-10 mins to review one's position/s each day or evening or night, maybe 15-20 mins
to review on the weekend
and one million $s in 12 months doubling trading margin each month

people don't consider daytrading as essentially starting a business - and how many
businesses fail in their first year ?
to start a daytrading business would be foolish without 12 months living expenses
set aside - not just food and shelter but health care, continuing to contribute to the
pension scheme, transportation costs, clothing, insurances, etc, etc, etc presuming
the person wants to maintain their pre trading lifestyle - lots of disposable income

then there's the capital with which to trade, how much is that to be ?
is it one lump sum, or 2 or 3 sums in case of an early wipeout ?
and if it does all go, what then ?