Forex trading as a career?

It seems that people are binary in their thinking - either full-time trading income, or permanent employee income.
There are many industries where people don’t get a permanent employment nor fixed regular salary. I’m an ICT contractor and do 6 months here, 12 months there. I have to manage my income to span [U]every[/U] week - not just weeks I’m working.
To me, trading would effectively be the same. You’ll lose sometimes and you’ll gain sometimes. As long as your overall position is cashflow positive, you can figure out where the buffers need to be and pay yourself a regular “salary” to live off regardless.

Giving up a steady job for something that is very ‘iffy’ is a poor choice to make. You should keep your job and try to fit in forex trading during the hours you aren’t working. To be profitable in forex you need to do a lot of practicing or you will just lose your shirt. Get a professional to help you so you understand what to do. Take some courses. But never give up your job. Don’t be hasty.

Yeah totally agree with you. I would always prefer part time forex trading while working on a full time job

[QUOTE=“antoanete;588775”]I think forex trading is very fantastic, profitable and interesting. You can gain a big money if you encounter the best broker. Scalping is necessary.[/QUOTE]

That pretty much the same as your post on another thread over in Newbie Island, I won’t respond to both but just add my thought - I agree with all you say here other than the last bit. I know that some like scalping and make good money at it, but personally wouldn’t consider it ‘necessary’. I know a few guys who trade well who don’t touch scalping.

And on the whole ‘trading as a career’ idea, that’s a question that will always get different answers from different people. Trading as a sole or primary income-gaining activity is a lifestyle, so the answer boils down to more than simple income.

There is no question that successful trading can bring in a comfortable income, but whether one wants to walk away from a more conventional career job is quite a different question, with no universal, ‘correct’ answer.

ST

Same with me , i make forex trading business as my side job and also the result of this job as my extra income so i can get money beside my main job as my full time in my real life

Really boring,Yes but you can make it interesting,it deals with the mindset,Some people find Maths boring while others find it very interesting…One man’s meat is another man’s poison lol …I find Forex intriguing when you start gaining profits you would definitely find it interesting and would like to dig in more,it becomes boring wjen the losses start falling in :wink:

Quitting your day job to focus on Forex trading is a major decision. You need to make sure you can make enough for your living. If not, keep your day job and trade Forex for extra income.

I personally find FX far from boring. Of course its not for everyone. If you want to make it your primary source of income, you should make sure you can sustain your profit target each month.

I would first analyze how much you are truly making from your trading. Do you want to quit your job because you are profitable, consistently with your trading? You can be consistent but your profits may be a couple dollars a day. If you do a true analysis of your living expenses and can cover everything with trading then you could consider doing it “full time”. But what is “full time” trading. For one, I would not want to sit in front of the screen for hours just watching the candlesticks being painted hoping to hit my profit target. Two, when do you consider yourself a professional or full time trader? This probably could be answered if trading was the only thing you did.

I see many people they join forex for living .They do full time trading as career. Forex is time demanding business. As much you will spend time you will find good tips for trading. As a career forex need a lot of care and hard work so that you earn from it not loose money all the time. Full time traders are more in benefit because the watch market time to time and avail good chance of market to get profit.

Only if you have enough capital, i.e. above 50k imo.

Having a career and making a living off of Forex Trading is NOT something that is EASY or be taken lightly. This is one of “The 9 Biggest Lies in Forex Trading” that many new or novice Forex Traders fall susceptible to.

I’ve been trading for more than 26 years and I can tell you in order for ANYONE to trade for a living he/she is going to have to do a great deal of preparation working in the form of education, finding a Mentor, Teacher or Forex Trading Coach. You’re going to have to spend money to make money and then after that. Imagine the enormous pressure that you will constantly be in trying to live off of your trades and paying the mortgage, rent, credit cards, putting food on the table and more. The glimmer fades away real quick.

I’m not saying it can’t be done, because obviously many are doing it, but those new to Trading shouldn’t expect to be trading full-time overnight and/or living off of their trades overnight. There is a reason my 95% of Retail Traders lose in Forex.

Man this topic is vast and I would hope that many experienced Traders will chime in and share their experiences.

With that said:

Have a magnificent day on PURPOSE!

Trading CAN’T be used as a continous income source. You can build a nice equity and live off that, but trying to pay mortgage or to put food on the table is a very bad idea.

This is why they say, that you need money reserves for trading, because let’s say in one month you make much less what you need, but in the next you make 5 times what you need for living, then living from it is not a problem, IF you don’t have liabilities.

But if you want to take out continous earning from trading, then you going to have a bad time.

Brilliant reading through this thread and seeing lots of guys doing this full time, be interesting to hear from the guys who were commenting in 2012 saying they were full time to find out if they are still full time and doing well in the markets. Great motivation for us newbies.

well i think forex provides a very good opportunity to make a career out of it , as it dosnt requires much capital and a degree to start it , it just need some knowledge and a little practice and then you can have your own business

No and no…

The dream of a $500 account holder becoming entirely reliant on forex trading to pay the bills

is what makes so many newbies overtrade, blow their account, and end up giving up on trading…

You need a large enough account to really trade properly, I think… I know from experience, that

my little micro-account is pretty much useless… I will keep growing it but for now it is just practice

for when I have a properly capitalised trading business…

You would not start any business (a shop, for example) with $500 or $1000, would you… so what

makes us newbies think that we can do that with trading?

Forex trading can be started with even small amounts as well, the only thing is how seriously any trader take trading. Some plan for it and take a leap into it as there career and make enough money with small amounts however some blow their account even with huge balances.

I think it’s possible to grow a small account into a large enough account to make real profit off of it, but that’s something that takes years of studying, pracising, trading, etc. In the meantime one needs another steady source of income, you can’t count on that account.

Absolutely…

It is good to have goals and dreams, but in the meantime, do not give up that day job just yet :slight_smile: