Hey Joe,
Welcome to BP. You ask good questions and give very realistic scenarios.
With a full time job, it is naturally harder to focus on forex as a side project, but it can be done. If you give yourself an hour a night to follow the “school” here on BP or practice on a demo account, you will find that those small steps do add up quite quickly. Seeing as how FX is a 24 hour market, being in the UK there will be either the US, Asian or Aussie markets open at night after you are done work and can get some practice in.
The time it takes to master forex varies with each person, so don’t compare yourself to anyone. Having said that, it is not unreasonable to take anywhere between 6 months to a year to get a good foundation for trading currencies. Don’t rush it, if you do, it is easy to feel defeated quickly and then give up all together. Trading is a psychological beast, learn to manage your emotions in small achievable chunks over time. Don’t worry about how much you will make, concentrate on how effective you can be.
So, effectiveness comes with technique. Best thing for you to do is find a good mentor or coach as that will speed up your learning dramatically. Pay for a good education and it will pay for itself many times over when you become good. If you can’t find anyone locally, there are many good coaches online who do Skype sessions and what not. Look those up. If you can’t afford that, then find a few good books that appeal to you and start with that. My all time favourite book is called “Trading in the Zone” by Mark Douglas. It teaches you how to handle your mind when trading.
Signal providers:
Their basic selling point is this, we do all the work, you just make all the money. No fuss, no muss, no stress. I am sure there are many good providers out there that are consistent and transparent. However, there are also those who aren’t. But let’s say you find a good one, how will you feel during the times when they are in a drawdown (meaning losing money, because there is no such thing as a 100% profitable signal provider)? Will you have mastered your own emotions as “they” make or loose your money? Will you have learned the skill to remain objective and calm as your account goes into the negative? Such is the problem with signal providers, you don’t personally improve your own trading know how and remain a victim of someone else’s skill or lack thereof.
So my advice (which is strictly my own opinion) is to learn to trade manually. It might take a bit longer, it might require more work and commitment, but in the end you have a skill that will serve you all your life and not just in trading. You will not get much from the quick easy way, but if you invest some energy in yourself and your own education, you will have an infinite amount of abundance in more ways than one. Invest a little bit now and get back a lot in the future. Sounds like a good trading plan, no?
Good luck Joe!!