To paraphrase Remy from Ratatouille movie: it's true that anyone can trade but that does not mean that anyone should. And it's true that it'll take time and effort; however, don't believe so much in "smart" money managers or "experts", and further so if they apppear to comment on markets in journals or news. Nobody knows everything and nobody conquered the market especially not in the long term. Take Mr Corzine as an example.
I quit my job to day trade futures after only 6 month of profitable trading because I hated my day job. All I did was saved my money so I had quite a bit in the reserves. I couldn't find employment so I decided I would chance making money in the futures market while I looked for another job. I gave up on finding another job and stuck with my trading career to this day (it has been 1 year). Becoming a full time day trader (if you want to call it that, I work roughly 3 hours a day) is feasible but you need to make sure you have some money saved up and are not living pay check to pay check. It is also nice to have a spouse that can provide you with low cost health benefits from their employer. If you do not have money saved up though, I would consider saving some first because chances are you will blow you account up and FAIL!