Forex as a career

[marlalp]

Hello,
I am a college student with a great interest in foreign exchange trading. I am very interested in learning what career opportunities exist in this area. Do most Forex traders work for a broker or firm, or are they more often self-employed, trading their own money?

Also, what is the ideal education to prepare oneself for a career in Forex? I am majoring in Finance and minoring in International Business & Trade. These are my passions. I work hard in my studies and maintain a 4.0/4.0 gpa. I will go as far in my education as it takes to help me be successful in this field. Are there any advanced degrees or programs designed for Forex traders?

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

-Marla

[TheRumpledOne]

Most likely you'll find the position you are seeking at a large international bank, broker or hedge fund.

By why work for someone else when you can trade?

[marlalp]

Originally Posted by TheRumpledOne

Most likely you'll find the position you are seeking at a large international bank, broker or hedge fund.

By why work for someone else when you can trade?

Thank you for your reply. I would prefer to trade for myself, but I gather it is difficult to make a living at this unless one has a very large amount of capital to invest. Is that true?

[TheRumpledOne]

It's relative.

Say you want to make $100 a day.

Trade 1 mini lot and you'll need to make 100 pips.

Trade 10 mini lots and you'll need to make 10 pips.

Trade 100 mini lots and you'll need to make 1 pip.

Start with trading 1 minilot.

If you are good at trading ( picking ONE trade a day that nets 4 - 5 pips ), then you'll have the capital to make $100 / pip in a few months.

Remember the cycle of trading:

1) waiting,
2) entry ( 1 or 2 seconds ),
3) holding ( more waiting ),
4) exit ( 1 or 2 seconds ),
5) back to 1.

[swordofrue]

My goal is 2% increase a week. I have been trading for nearly two years. It is only now that my equity curve goes mostly in the positive directions. So for now I would just worry about practicing and getting better. I am positive that I will be independently wealthy by age 30 and be able to quit my career and just trade

[Yarcofin]

I've been making forex predictions for 5 weeks now, and so far it has made about a 74% return on investment.

When I feel confident enough about my demo trading being consistent, I am going to start a live account with a fairly small amount ($5,000).

At first Forex is just going to be a nice suppliment to another full-time job, but once I have the capital I would definately like to switch over to trading full-time one day (or creating an EA to do all the work for me.)

Doubling your money in a year seems well within reach if you know what you're doing.

[Helltopia]

Hi there,

In my opinion the forex marked is pretty much 'thinking outside the box', so no theoretical education will be entirely successfull in preparing you for what awaits you as an active trader. Sure, you could learn a whole lot of theoretical economics and most interesting in our case - macroeconomics - for the fundamental trades, and general help to explain what moves the marked.

The best education is actually to trade, reading and hearing about the process of a trade is just so good. The real education is when you make first hand experience in the marked. Its almost as learning to swim, you'd actually have to step into the water before you can realy swim. Reading a book about swimming and believing thats all there is to it, is the sure way to die horribly.

But yes, get a nice shiny diploma with an above average grades and some company in the marked might hire you as a broker, salesman and/or analyst. Sure be happy with a 9 to 5 job working with someone elses money, who is to blame you? You'll most likely make a real nice living doing just that collecting a monthly pay check.

Notice one of the differences between the 'regular' marked (stocks, bonds, futures etc) and the forex marked - the capital need.
We don't need a large dealing account to make a living of this marked, but I wont totaly ignore the fact the bigger the account/the larger the gains will be either. So its perfectly possible for the average Joe to make a OK living just trading for him/her self, and thats even without any form of degree or diploma to hang at your wall.

So ask yourself this; spent 100.000 USD on a fancy MBA/MSc or use 100.000 USD to trade yourself to be financially indepentable? With forex its possible to be economical successful and its a highly viable option with the proper mix of experience (firstly) and education (secondly).

I almost chose the later since I didn't know any better and it was the 'normal' way of getting a decent job and providing for your family. I made it to the BA level and was considering a higher degree. I don't regret my decision, but experience and later judgment have made me believe there is a whole new way of living just thinking outside the box - be your own employer and getting paid for your real skills, and not by what some employer think your worth...

In closing, the forex marked could be the key to your financial goals, or the bane of you. Only experience of trial, error and success will tell you where your limits are.

Babypips is a great way to start out, so hang in there and start easy. Dont do live trading until your confident you can start trading real money.

Best of luck to you, whatever you might chose to do.

[4xStar]

Originally Posted by marlalp

Hello,
I am a college student with a great interest in foreign exchange trading. I am very interested in learning what career opportunities exist in this area. Do most Forex traders work for a broker or firm, or are they more often self-employed, trading their own money?

Most people in here are independent traders, trading their own money.

Also, what is the ideal education to prepare oneself for a career in Forex? I am majoring in Finance and minoring in International Business & Trade. These are my passions. I work hard in my studies and maintain a 4.0/4.0 gpa. I will go as far in my education as it takes to help me be successful in this field. Are there any advanced degrees or programs designed for Forex traders?

No, as an independent Forex trader what you need most is an entrepreneurial drive.. and by this I mean the definition of an entrepreneur is someone who will do ANYTHING to avoid a 'normal' 9-5 job

This is not to say that a basic college education is not important ... it is very important because it better equips you to function in life at all levels.

If you are looking for 'job security', pension plans, 401k's, benefits, etc .. then you will want to use your education to seek employment with one of the big banks, brokerage firms or other financial entities.

However if the thought of being completely independent, financially and otherwise, appeals to you, then even now, while you are continuing your education, you can open a mini or even a micro account with a few hundred dollars and start trading Forex. Apart from absorbing the information on babypips.com and in these forums, the only way to learn will be by doing it in real time.

And perhaps by the time you graduate you will have made enough money to pay off those college loans by writing a check...and maybe discovered a world of financial opportunity that most college grads can only dream about.

Good luck

[emmiexpiggy]

Originally Posted by swordofrue

My goal is 2% increase a week. I have been trading for nearly two years. It is only now that my equity curve goes mostly in the positive directions. So for now I would just worry about practicing and getting better. I am positive that I will be independently wealthy by age 30 and be able to quit my career and just trade

hi, am curious, what's your field before you entering forex trading? and how long did it take you before you could trade? (i mean the learning period, as am a fresh newbie, would like to know, thanks ..)

[emmiexpiggy]

am just starting to learn trading, and it's like stock trading, if you always need to keep an eye on the market, so is it possible to trading at work? i highly doubt it. as i'm in accounting department, super busy sometimes.

just need ppl to confirm whether full time trader is a must for trading?

thank you very much....if you can give a brief reply