for beginners level i always prefer micro account instead of demo to acquire live knowledge and experience.
Just because leverage is there, it doesn’t mean you have to use it. Leverage increases your position size, thus, multiplying your profits and losses. If you think you can’t handle the losses that you will have to incur as a result of leverage, then don’t use it, if you think you can only handle small leverage, use small leverage, if you think you can handle high leverage, then use it. It’s all about how much you can afford comfortably.
You should be trading at 1:1 and if you prove to be profitable, seek employment. I suggest only using leverage if you have the cash, but are holding it somewhere else. Example, you have 100k in precious metals and a fraction of that value in your trade account to trade that full 100k. Trading 1:1 your exposure is not any more than you already are, being forced to use a fiat currency. If you are well balanced and diversified, you are minimizing your exposure to risk.
Choosing leverage is a matter of the risk in trading, there are the most mistakes beginner trader included choosing high leverage which will be associated with a higher risk in trading, besides, choosing high leverage, there are other mistakes for novice traders. The Future Depends on what you do Today Most Common Mistakes by Newbie Traders Understand in Details and Get the Answers from the Experienced Forex Traders and FXOpen Forum Members. Learn Forex Trading with FXOpen Forum
The lesser the better because beginners are still getting the hang of the market. Moreover, if they decide to use leverage, they should implement a risk management strategy to ensure that they don’t lose big because, on several occasions, beginners have used high leverage and blew up their trading accounts.