Well ive just opened a demo account with FXMC and now my question is i work full time 8-5 EST and have an hour at lunch 12-1 to trade but other then that after 5pm is my free time. So what pair should i trrade with my avalible free time.
Also i know this is a very very broad question, but lets just assume im knowledgeable, can spend 15-20 hrs a week trading/researching, have an ok bank roll of 5k US to begin, how long till i can quit my job and trade full time or basically make an excess of 60k a year that being my yearly rate.
Im not looking to get rich quick but i am however looking to quit my day job, i am a Mech Eng and tired of working for someone else. Is there anyone who as taken this route? I can imagin everyone who is trading just was unemployed and bored one day and decided to pick of forex. And also i know i know i know this is a general question so if your answer is “well that depends on many things” i understand that so ill im looking for is an educated guess. I just, as well as others im sure, would like to have maybe a goal, ie time frame, to shoot for based on anothers experience.
Im fresh out of college and learned within the first few years working for someone else…well…sucks. I want a job where my pay can directly reflect my efforts. I have already started to invest in some realestate and have a smaller side income but again my ultimate goal is to quit my day job and would just like to have an educated estimate of a time frame persay.
If you get stopped by the material at any point, Google it (better yet, use Investopedia)
Open Metatrader, read the help file segment for every single indicator that is available to you (the mathematical basis for these should come easy to you since you’re an engineer)
Go through and look at the plethora of trading systems on here and ForexFactory
Learn some financial sense, particularly in the area of risk management
Trade higher time frames - 4H and above. Daily might be a good choice - you’ll only have to check the charts once per day.
When you go live, don’t put in the full bank roll. Make it just enough so that it’ll mean something if you lose it all, but little enough so that you can have another go.
What pair - doesn’t really matter. A chart is a chart. Trade the pair with the best setups…
Here’s the best advice I have - don’t think you’re going to quit your day job any time soon. If you have patience and accept this is a business like any other, you can do it. But it’ll take time. After all, doctors train for more than six years, why would it be any different to become a skilled trader?
Set a long term goal, for instance, ten years from now I’ll be able to trade for a living if I so choose. In the meantime, put in some energy at your JOB (Just Over Broke :D), after all, that’s probably going to be your breadwinner for years to come.
Someone going into trading because they want out of their current life is not a good starting point. They’ll rush and overtrade and make all the mistakes. Don’t be one of them. Learn this properly, let it take the time it takes, and you’ll actually have a chance at making the dream.
I’ll give you my thoughts, but others may not agree. Each person is different. What works well for one may not work at all for another. Finding what works for you is “The Holy Grail”. One may find it quickly and another may take longer. I agree with the poster that said plan for it to take 10 years of study and practice. Read Dr. Tharp, Trade your way to financial freedom. Read everything there is to do with trading forex. Read like your life depends on it. If you find your “Holy Grail” faster than 10 years, don’t forget us!
Demo trade for a while, like a couple months, and then move to a micro account (10 cents per pip) with $500 in it. It’s totally different trading with real money, even 10 cents a pip, than demo trading. You’ll see. Try like hell not to lose it. If you do, take a month off and demo and study and then try again. Only when you have 6 months of steady gains, move to a mini account. And only after 6 months of steady gains on a mini move to a standard account.
Only trade the majors to start. EUR/USD is the most liquid and I’ve made a nice living off it. Everyone has their favs, but there’s probably more info on eur/usd and since it’s so liquid, the spread is usually smaller and execution is good.
Since you have a day job, forget day trading. Not only is it hard as hell, but you just have very little chance unless you can watch your trades most of the day. Learn to swing or position trade. I trade full time and I mostly swing trade. My typical trade lasts 4 days, but I’ve been in one now for 4 months (Only because I’m way ahead and still winning). So I have to say I do some small position trades also. If you get stuck, you can message me. If I can’t help, I can find someone who can.
I used to be an engineer, and a damned good one too!
Graviton, thanks for the insite exactly what i was looking for, a broad interpretation of an expected time frame. Thanks for the personal message invite, i guess us engineers gotta stick together seeing as were over worked in schoold and under paid in industry. But for now i need to get involved with my demo account, all i have been doing is researching but i am constantly looking for more literature so thanks again for the book refference. Also, any other meaningfull or worth while literature you might sugest let me know, please. Send me a message if your able to though this form or maybe we can exchange emails. Again thanks
Working towards helping someone else achieve their own dreams, and what do you have to show for all your efforts 10 years later? I came to the same realisation not too long ago.
The posters above have covered some very important areas, but just thought I’d throw in my own two cents.
What’s going to make you successful as a trader over the long run are your emotional competencies. You might have a great strategy, you might have a great coach, but the key to trading successfully is how well you can manage your emotions.
Self-discipline.
Impulse control.
Dampening sabotaging thoughts.
Delaying of gratification.
Not falling victim to feeling sorry for yourself.
I learned all of the above by studying the following 3 literatures:
Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence.
Mark Douglas - Trading in the zone.
Ari Kiev - Psychology of Risk.
If you do take my recommendation and the buy those 3 books, please, for you own good, read them in the order listed.
Being an electronic engineer by academics, I can relate to your troubles.
Reading a bunch of books about psychology are probably the last thing an enthusiastic start-up trader wants to do, but trust me, it may save you a lot of time, effort and money over the short, medium or long term.
I decided to study information on forums dedicated to Forex. Here I see negative phenomenon as aggression, but also lots of experienced FX market participants that wanna share the experience. It’s very helpful.
It is good idea to study forums, forums are great for learning Here beginners and experts share their ideas about their trading and give tips also to get benefit from them. I learn a lot from forums. Many forums give their members bonus for real trading.It is good to trade with bonus and get experience of real trading.
This worked for me too, but at the end of they day, nothing beats practice. The more you trade (whether with real money or demo money) the more you will be able to pick and choose from all the knowledge you get from going through forums and books etc. and the more you will be able to fine tune your trading system to get consistent results.
Also, quitting your day job is a common goal, but try not to let it define your trading. Your main focus should always be risk management. Compounding is a wonder and it will take care of itself if you can find a relatively low-risk trading system.
I think so 2. I deal with RoboForex if you know. The forum is great, but the verification process isn’t simple I can tell u. The info you get here costs it.
You should learn proper trading first in order to make green pips. If you will enter forex trading trying to make cash from very start then you won’t succeed and will get double frustrated. Instead you should learn it first along with your day job and only take forex as a career when you start making good profit without any pressure or hustle.