Working full time and trading?

Like most people trading FX, I also work full time and try to trade throughout the day.

How do most people fit this in to their schedule? I some time struggle to find the time to do all the research before trading so therefore miss trading opportunities.

Also I have a MAC at home so I am unable to use MT4 though I havent tried running Windows in parallel yet. MT4 doesnt work on my work laptop. So most of my trading is done through my brokers android app. Because I cant use MT4 I like to use the interactive chart on the investing.com website.

Are their any other sites I could to access interactive charts?

Try investing.com.

I personally advise everyone, don’t day trade if you don’t have time. Instead invest in stocks or play the weekly charts for 0.10c a pip or a $1 if you can afford it.

I am a self employed Real estate broker when I am not selling properties, I trade 9-4 most days once I am in a trade I can go for lunch or hang out with friends for a couple of hours or go to the park as long as my stops are in place.

If I am working on a few listings that means viewings. I don’t trade. Now it is summer and the market has picked up so I am busy. Completion normally takes a few weeks so once I have hit my target for the year. I can relax and trade. Trading is still a business…

I definitely agree with emeraldorc here. If you’re working full time, then sticking to swing and longer-term positions is a more manageable process. It may take more time than day trading, but using currencies as an investing vehicle can build wealth as well.

Focus on developing your processes and consistent execution your first few years, and once you have that–and the experience of different market environments–then you’ll know whether being an active trader/investor will be a more attainable goal.

Do your research on the weekend or later in the day. You do not need to trade every single day or every week. The beauty about trading currencies is that it opens 24 hours a day except on weekends then open on Sunday late afternoon (in US atleast). You can still trade at night… You can trade via your mobile phone even if you are on meetings/conference call :wink: You have to find time. If you want something, you will try your best and find ways how to get it… If you want it bad enough that is…

Good-luck!

I can’t relate here. I quit my job a month ago and have been gravy since, LOL I don’t trade forex though I trade Binary Options. I would just say go for it man!

Just regarding this point, there are a couple brokers at least I know who offer MT4 for Macs without having to use parallels or anything like that - Vantage, IC Markets.
I’ve only come across 1 broker offering MT5 (6h, 8h & 12h charts) straight to Mac and that’s Admiral Markets.

Even if you don’t use them to place your trades, you can at least use their charts.

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with a few senior members here. I work full time (50+hrs) and trade as well but do so at the other extreme of the scale. I trade only the EURUSD pair , generally look to get only one trade a day in (some time between market open London and New York) for a 5 pip profit and trade off the 70 tick chart. The beautiful thing about the market is that the possibilities to trade it is only limited by your own imagination. But it takes time. I’ve been at it for 2 years next month and its only been the last 3 months that my trading has turned around.

I totally agree but in that it is a process, focus on that process and make time. Where there is a will there is a way. Best of luck on your journey bro

Hello King!

Welcome to the forums! I agree with all that has been said… I wish to take you to PipNRoll’s thread, where she and I discussed

this very topic:

http://forums.babypips.com/newbie-island/64872-finding-consistency-24.html

We are still questioning what style suits our trading, even after all this time, exactly because even if we are doing ok, we

may not be able to do as much analysing and self-reflecting as maybe a full-time trader might… So maybe we learn more

slowly from our mistakes.

Another great poster, like PipNRoll, is SimonTemplar: see what he has to say here about trading around his home life and

family

http://forums.babypips.com/forextown/64809-why-we-need-more-good-female-traders-13.html

Best of luck to you x

I normally use trading view to do my own analysis if I cannot access to MT4. It is pretty good. Also we can check other traders analysis as well.

There are currency pairs and session times that should be available to you even if you work full-time. If you’re working during the London and NY sessions, then the first 3-4 hours of the Asian session may be suitable for you, especially if you focus on Asian pairs like the USDJPY, AUDUSD, EURJPY or AUDJPY, which normally experience the same volatility as the London session. Reading up on the latest news and plotting key S/R levels for the day shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, IMO.


Thanks for all the comments guys.

I have already got some shares but in most case its for the long term and the returns are only good if your investing good money and I am only a small trader.

I guess the key is trading at the right time to make a few pips. I am still working on perfecting my strategy and trading plan so all is work in progress its just trying to find the time to do things on a daily basis.

Thanks for the brokers name will have a look at them.

Thanks for the links, interesting read…

Thanks, will have a look at trading view

I am based in London, but I dont have a set trading hours as such its just trying to assess the market with research and charts to establish buy and sell trades.

What about personal online broker? I don’t think that people who don’t have anough background and knowledge won’t find time to gain necessary experience being on full time job. I’ve started to learn about it and found interesting proposition. As for me this is the way out here. I’ve heard a lot of good feedback from my friends about the service. But it’s only my opinion.

Life is a gamble at the end of the day. If you feel you have enough knowledge to go full time, then go for it. Trading for me is my second job however I have more flexibility. I am soon considering going fulltime with my own small fund.

It is like starting any business however I find in business the downside risk far outweighs the upside risk and everyday does not present the idea of profitability or income. In fact most business require constant investment with years to wait for any return.

Yet millions every year quit their jobs and start businesses with life savings. Just watch Dragons Den…

Good luck whatever you decide.

A personal broker is not really affordable because I am only a small trader.

Trading full time is an option which I am likely to take after a few years of successful trading and building up enough capital to trade in larger volumes. But at this moment in time I am trying to full understand forex and trying to figure out the best strategy and trading plan to use, so all is work in progress at the moment.

i still trade partime in this time. but i belive i will trade full time in next time. i hope all of you will get money from this market.

Living in a country of GMT+8, major market opens are at odd hours. I would say it is about the discipline. getting my ass out of bed at 4am to do my analysis for the day. putting in my orders between 5am to 12pm whilst juggling school. (in class, 1 hand jotting down notes, other hand holding my ipad every 5mins, i trade m5). sometimes i wish i was a fish. with my eyes on either sides of my face. so 1 eye can be locked on the blackboard while the other on my ipad

Do you know that MT4 has an app for android? I use it sometimes and it works quite well.

Best thing- Swing Trade. Go for the larger trends that last a few days, saves you time, make more money, avoid stress and worry of Day Trading in general.

I humbly believe more persons will earn more money/lose a lot less than they are now if they made this switch. Trends are a lot more stable, signals are more reliable and you have the time to carefully analyze, make a decision and calmly wait on the trades to hit their targets while you do other stuff.

This approach isnt as popular/promoted as day trading, but in the long-run, pays off.

Check out my thread in Swing Trader and if you are convinced, send me a message for more info.

I certainly can trade currencies while working a full-time job. You have several options:

  1. As mentioned in a previous post, trade longer-term time frames, but keep in mind the economic events that can affect your long-term positions.

  2. If MT4 doesn’t work on your laptop, then its because you don’t have admin privileges. In that case, you need to log into your home computer remotely by signing up for a service such as logmein.com. They charge $99/year.

  3. Make yourself available to trade the peak sessions (as mentioned in a previous post) even if it means getting up at 2am or 3am.

  4. All your choices are meaningless if you don’t stick to your trading rules and plan. This is why traders lose money, not because they are working full-time jobs.

Long-term positions and/or trading during market peak hours is generally the way to go, as others have already mentioned. The latter does require quite a bit of multitasking at odd hours of the day and it can be very exhausting, so it’s not for everyone. It depends on the individual to decide what’s best for them.

Another thing one can do is trade - or, indeed, deliberately stay away - when there are important events and news releases. The market becomes highly volatile when that happens, which some people find useful while others prefer to do nothing. It really depends on your style and what you’re comfortable with.