I know this question probably gets asked a lot but i’m trying to decide if i should continue this journey or use my time to otherwise. I started trading crypto in the summer and gradually shifted to forex after realizing that TA doesn’t really work with crypto its more about news and speculation. I am a really fast learner and have a good work ethic and i have resources and time to study throughout the week because i am not working. I left my job because i realized that working a 9-5 isn’t what i want to do in the long term. I am computer savvy and 23 years old i am going to school part time but it only takes a couple hours out of the week. I’m wondering if i dedicate all of my time and energy, analyze charts every single day 8-12 hours a day how long will it take me to be considered profitable? i know it’s a broad question but i just want to know if there’s going to be light at the end of the road soon or how soon it will be until i’m at a point where i’m making money. I’m not talking about making 1000 a day or anything but at least 100 a day or just being profitable in general whatever the amount may be. Your opinion/input is much appreciated. Thank you.
I haven’t traded cryptos but that certainly sounds right, in principle, to me.
Very difficult to answer.
Most people never become profitable.
There’s a small minority who eventually manage to make about 5% return per month on their capital. And perhaps a tiny minority who do even better than that.
If you’re going to be among them, my guess is a year and a half to two years.
It’s only a guess!
Most of the small minority of people who ever become successful say it took them 3-4 years, but if you can really spend 8-12 hours per day at it (that’s a huge commitment!) perhaps you’ll be able to halve that? If 3-4 years is an average (which I think it probably is, for that small minority), then someone has to be able to do it in less?
Good luck.
How longs a piece of string? Yes I know people say minimum this amount of time etc etc. but really - this is for you to experience on your own. What takes one person a week to do may take another a life time. Anyone who says this time frame or that is placing a limitation on some thing that needs no limit.
You wonder whether you should spend your time elsewhere. Go with your intuition - it doesn’t lie - but can be misinterpreted or questioned .
Most people never become profitable because they fundamentally misunderstand what it is they need to do in order to be profitable, and would not be willing to do what it takes even if they did understand.
People like to think that trading is about acquiring knowledge, but beyond a very basic level, this just isn’t’ true. And we would understand that it isn’t true, if we were talking about nearly anything else.
So let’s talk about boxing. Imagine someone wants to fight at a professional level - to be the next Mike Tyson, if you will. They study strategy, read everything that has ever been written about boxing, keep up with all the match results, and yes, even show up to their local club a few times to go a few rounds. Are they the next Tyson?
Of course not. Having knowledge having skill are two very different things. We all understand that.
But our hypothetical boxer is no dummy, and they understand that they need to take things to the next level. They start showing up for training regularly, and they work hard. They listen to the feedback of their coach, and their opponents. They do this religiously for two years. Are they the next Tyson?
Again, the answer is no. They are likely much better than they were, but they are almost certainly not at a professional level.
That is because their entire focus is external. They are looking at what Tyson does and trying to mimic that, which is entirely understandable, but insufficient. What they are missing is what Tyson is. A professional boxer is an athlete, and he has forged and conditioned his body to perform at the highest possible level for his sport. His commitment does not start and stop on in the ring; it includes his diet, his physical conditioning, his psychological focus, and his intense focus on success that reduces his personal life and non-sport activities to virtually nothing.
Trading is no different, but instead of conditioning your body you condition your mind. Just as very few people have the motivation, pain tolerance and commitment to reach the fitness level of a professional fighter, very few people have the motivation, pain tolerance and commitment to reach the psychological level of a profitable trader.
This is true of virtually any field. Excellence, in whatever form, comes at a cost that most people, in practice, are unwilling to pay. It is a lonely road paved with sacrifice, lost opportunities, and pain. Frankly, you need to be at least a little mentally ill to walk that road. Your average person will be much happier with the 9-5 that they think they hate and a modest standard of living.
100 what? Pips or anything else?
It will definitely depend on how much you are willing to manage your emotions, manage your money and manage your methodology. And even with all that,chances are not to make it ever like LaughingCharlie said before.
For me the goal is to not blow up my account, manage my risk and survive in this jungle even before thinking of getting near to be profitable.
To quote a guy called Wyckoff “Studies in Tape Reading” - “Think of a baby, just learning to walk - being entered in a race for Professional Sprinters”
I’m not sure whether you are really desperate to be “a great trader” - or whether you just want “an easy living”
You say you are a “quick learner” - When I first started - It was just before Xmas and I used to get a month off work at Xmas. I got every book that my local library possessed on “shares” and “trading” out, read every one from cover to cover - doing as you say - 12-18 hours a day.
At the end of that month I knew ONE thing ! - The people who wrote the books hadn’t got a clue what they were talking about! - Nowadays regurgitating “received wisdom” is so much easier than it was then.
How good are you at spotting BS ? _ especially in this industry where people earn money from writing BS and there are many many misunderstandings and so much active deception ?
Learning is good - but not great when you reaise you now have to "unlearn " 3 months of solid work !
The road is long - with many a winding turn !
Give it a year 12-18 hours 6 days a week - Then see if you think you are “getting there” and make your own decision at that point !
Oh and DO TRADE (Demo but take it as a real investment of your own ego - to “Not be wrong” then you will feel the emotions) -
How long do you think those “Professional Sprinters” train to keep ahead of each other ? - That is the Quality of the opposition you are trading against !
Opposition who can actually see - what your trades are and where you have placed your stops !
This is not just a “Dot moving up and down on a screen” - This is "The Greatest Game in the WOrld " - (Wyckoff again !
oh - quick hint - Don’t believe a word of what you read from “Analysts” and “Experts” Generally - You need to make your own rules and form your own opinions without listening to other people - EXCEPT when everyone says “It’s going to the moon” (Crypto like) - Bale out ! and vice versa !
[Edit - I believe you said you traded Crypto from last summer - (so you got some of the major moves) and if you got out with a new suit instead of losing the shirt off your back, Congratulations ! ) 
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We trained our traders in house. Generally it took about 200 hours of training to go from they dont know anything to consistently making money and not a danger to thier accounts. After that its like golf. You get a little better each day for the reat of your career.
So perhaps now you will say something useful ?
It depends on the person. If you have that much time to dedicate 8-12 hours to just focus on forex then I see no reason why it would take you long to become profitable. Every person is different and everyone has a different level of understanding. My advice is not to listen to everyone that hasn’t been successful and that isn’t where you want to be, because of course they’re going to tell you it’s going to take you years to achieve profit and true success. Ignore the noise, focus on yourself, and you will eventually figure out a profitable strategy that will work for you and your goals.
Right, it depends on the individual that how he can manage his trading work and how he can follow his plan for a day.
No one knows. It differs from person to person. And even most people never get into it. It Will depend on various factors. If you come to forex by knowing that it’s the easiest thing to do, first you have to unlearn yourself. Then we have to relearn everything. How quick learner you are that’s a matter. How well you can apply your knowledge that’s also important matter. So it’s better to learn without any negetive thinking.
Of course each trader need different time frame to get experience and skill of trading. Those who enter without knowledge need much time to understand this business. People who make some practice on demo and read about forex are able to pick trading tips easily.
Maybe ten or twenty years with thousands of dollar lost. Retail trading is double times harder than proprietary or bank trading because you are significantly disadvantaged in terms of speed and tools
reminds me of Derrick Grace’s unlearn, relearn curriculum that he teaches lol but you’re definitely right…just keep all negative thoughts out your head