Hey guys, I am an 18 year old kid. Very interested in the market, and very interested in active trading. I guess the thing that intrigues me so much is the rush. Not in some weird psychological way, but in a sense that I don't want to spend my life banging my head on a desk in some corporation. I would like to eventually make a living out of it, but I know that requires years of practice, and dedication. For those of you who do make a living out of it, is it worth it to you? Do you enjoy doing it? Are there times when you really just want to quit all the BS? Also, for some of you, has it became an addiction? I know these are very broad questions, but as a young kid looking to come up in the financial market, I guess this was the best place to start. Thanks
Yes, trading requires years of practice and dedication. It also requires that you master your emotions and reactions since give or take, you're going to be wrong 1/2 the time. Some of the positives of trading: easy commute, no boss or employees hassling you, minimal work expenses (clothes, food, gas), your time is your own, independence, choice, the thrill of victory Some of the negatives of trading: putting the loss behind you (second guessing yourself), social isolation (you spend more time with your computer than anyone else), technological difficuties (computer/ISP problems, worms & viruses) Yes, it's worth it, particularly when a year like last year occurs. Is it an addiction? If I wasn't making money, I suppose that I would need an intervention (g). I owned my own white collar business and made a good living but I can say that I never looked forward to Monday as I do now. The market presents a glorious challenge and it can be financially and emotionally rewarding. Just don't expect to achieve it quickly or easily. And don't be surprised if you don't.
wow you can be so nice when you want to, you forgot to tell him HOW YOU HATE THOSE WHO TRADE BETTER THAN YOU Hey SPinny I do 1:2 RR, are you gonna go nutz on me again, freak
Spindr0 you created dimestock didn't you you created OP just to respond JUST TO SHOW YOU ARE NICE GUY pathetic, now do you believe I am smarter you know I am right
Sad to tell you this but most successful traders don't get a rush and don't achieve euphoric victories. You will most likely learn that first hand. The changes you make from there will determine whether you have the ability to be profitable or not. Learning to trade is less about figuring out profitable methods and more about changing your own psychological traits when it comes to risk and caution. Many risk takers like yourself never find the balance because their own definition of trading is completely different from true profitable trading. Most of them would stick with their reckless behavior and trading even if they knew the caution needed because they have convinced themselves that all successful traders trade like a rockstar.
The primary reason I chose trading is because I couldn't see myself working "for the man" for the rest of my life. I wanted independence and I wanted to be self-employed. I've enjoyed a good career in this business but I'll be the first to tell you it's going to break your heart. Knowing what I know now I would most definitely chose a different path. Working for the man isn't such a bad thing as long as you enjoy what you do. Given another chance I'd major in the physical sciences and do some sort of medical research. There are two questions you need to ask yourself: 1. What is your passion in life? Assuming the answer to that question is trading; 2. Can you endure heart-breaking losses? It doesn't matter how good you get. The best in the business get their hearts broken. It's just the nature of the game. There are really two choices in this game. Do you use close stops and stick your neck out or do you use wide stops and risk the big one? Ain't that the million dollar question. Where's my lab kit?
Dear Dimebag, I love trading more than anything I've ever done. Engineering was my major in college & I've never practiced as such. My thoughts resonate with yours - working in cubicle @ huge company is for the birds. Within trading I'd recommend studying, then paper trading futures rather than individual stocks. Remember, it's risky, so you need to have risk capital. Also, let me give you one very, VERY STRONG CAUTION (since you solicited our opinions): Make sure you get off to a very good start...or at least not a bad one. Many traders, myself included, learn to trade in an unprofitable manner then learn how to trade profitably after our first plan fails. My first plan was based on moving averages & other indicators /oscillaotrs which in retrospect I know are bogus. 80% of traders lose money. Do you really want to emulate their patterns? Think about this. I eventually learned about Support & Resistance, never looking back. Any person or company who promises you more than what I've just given you should be investigated. There is NO holy grail. Only common sense & mathetmatical expectancy. Good luck, young man.
I was exactly like you a six months ago. I am 19 now and quit trading. Moved on to other ventures. I wasn't profitable my first year in 08 despite heavy short bias and the market's fall. I traded index futures primary. My first account was severely under capitalized though which didn't help. For example on September 11 2008 I was short when the dow was 10k+ but I still got crushed even though it was a great longer term even short term entry. I was short 1 YM on a 5.5k account (talk about undercapilization) on sept 11 and the market just kept on rising. I blew out that account and funded another for 12k, which I took down to 9k my first day then made it back in a week. Then I had many crazy swings on that account trading index options, but YM index futures primary. Eventually I blew out that account as well, only withdrawing 9k. I took that 9k and opened another brokerage account with velocity futures. I traded for a while and got as close as I could to consistent profitability. I was scalping and I would make often average $200 for many days in a row with no down days. In a week I took that account to 10.4k, partly aided by the stock market's free fall early this year. I was about as close to consistent profitability scalp trading the YM then, but ultimately I was unsuccessful at making a living from it. I believe it is within my reach, but I couldn't stand the uselessness and isolation of trading. It is also an emotional ride and I believe it made me a worse person at times getting angry etc with people because of losing $ trading that day. The thing that made me quit trading was being caught up in a 100pt short squeeze in minutes before the closing bell recently. I was short 3 YM and got hammered almost 2k after just spending a week recovering my losses. I lost discipline, up until that point I was up $200 for the day. I should've followed my rule about if its a good day you can only make it worse by doing one more trade. I withdrew about 7.5k from that account, making it the 3rd straight acct I put more money in than I took out. I hope you are successful but the odds are against you, I am sure you realize. Chances are you will just end up making someone else rich like your broker or clearing houses while you take the risks, like I did. I paid north of 2k in commissions in all my trading, my total losses are around 4k. You have to ask yourself if there isn't something else you'd rather be doing than trading with your investment capital. Maybe you would rather use it to start a biz that could make you rich and maybe even at the same time create something you think the world needs. If you do go ahead with trading, I recommend you don't do the same type of compulsive noise trading I did. I would stay in a trade for minutes, or less than a minute sometimes. While it fed my compulsive urge to trade, it is a waste of time and life. I think you should rather trade with weeks or months of patience to see your trade through. It is your money. Don't fall for the broker's trick trying to make you trade as often as possible. With trading less is more really.
If you want to learn trading you have to work HARDER than a guy in a cubicle, this is the hard truth Are you willing to sacrifice your life and become workaholic, to gain independence in your decisions and possibly finances, then go for it.
You need to be well capitalized to really have a shot. Most traders fail for the same reason most other businesses fail. And yes, you must run your trading like business. And without working capital no business goes very far. Btw, well capitalized to me would mean at least 1 years living expenses in a bank account and a trading account large enough that a 20% return would be enough income for you. Mind you, 20% really isn't very good. In fact, most traders I know don't even look at percentages, just raw dollars. But, starting out 20% would be damn good.