I have been seriously considering trading full time and leaving my job. I feel it’s a very risky decision to make. My job pays me very well but I hate the travel and being away from home so much so that is my big why. I keep asking myself all the what if…what if I don’t make enough money trading, what if this…that. I know we cannot live our lives wondering what if. I have been trading both demo & live now for 6 months and I believe I can really make this work fulltime. In the past month of trading, trading forex has occupied most of my walking moments both at work and at home and looked to the very near future at the possibility of doing it fulltime.
Those of you who have come to this crossing point in your forex career and have made the transition to trade full time, I would very much like to value your advice to know the steps you took, the requirements you have to have and basically what it took for you to make the decision to trade full time.
If you can believe in your self and trust your system during the down times you should succeed. You should have some money on the side that you can live if you have a bad month or two. If you are trading from hand to mouth that is to much pressure. Good luck. From your post on this forum I think you have what it takes.
That’s great advice. Use your vacation and/or sick time to see if you have what it takes before giving that resignation letter . I’ll remember that for when the time comes. I personally would trade on the side for atleast a year to see how the market can change with the season and to have atleast double my current salary in reserves. I wouldn’t want a strategy that works great for 6 months just suddenly stop working because of a change in the market. Good Luck to you on whatever you decide. Keep us updated on your progress
All that said i’d go with the advise of taking a career break or annual leave and see whether you can make what you consider a living, act like you have quit your job and trading is your sole bread winner.
No offense, but unless a trader has years of experience, instinct is very likely nothing but emotion. Instinct is acquired in time through tons and tons of exposure to markets. Trading for a living is something to be worked toward in time, by starting small and establishing a solid track record on a smaller scale first. If one has done that, then and only then should they consider such a change. And even then, no amount of motivational mantra is going to lead you to success in full-time trading. Believing in yourself is definitly the starting point, without which you have no chance. But if you are confident, then the next step is to make sure you are sufficiently capitalized to justify trading for a living. If you are not, then you can believe in yourself as much as you want and in the end all you’re doing is hoping. And we all know that there is no room in trading for hope
Just a side comment. I am sorry if i am sounding cynical. I am definitly not a cynical person, but i find it a shame that most of us (present company included) have to learn these lessons the hard way. Don’t take such a leap on instict alone. It’s not enough. make sure all the pieces are together and anyone can get there.
I appreciate all the comments in this thread. I’m sure I won’t be the last one to ask this question. I hope these info will help other traders as well.
There are good advices to implement here. As for my part, my decision to move forward will be based purely on my knowledge & technical skills from this point - for that is all I really have to deliver the deliverables & results I am looking for and with a little bit of leap of faith, I will make it.
By the end of februay or early march, I will implement in part and/or in whole the suggestions in this thread.
I will be mainly trading GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, & EUR/USD.
I would say follow your dreams whatever they are but…
if you want to trade professionally please make sure that you are adequately capitalized -
You should have a good lump sum to trade with so among other things you will not be leveraged out of positions and will be able to get the good trades with a decent amount of size
AND
you should have a good amount of money set aside in case you are flat to the market or if heaven forbid you lose money
Ideally, you should have enough capital to ensure that your daily/weekly profit objective is relatively easy to meet. Trading for a living requires a focus on income rather than returns. It’s a very different mindset.
Thanks for posting this and good luck on your decision!
I am new to Forex and have been wondering just how many people are REALLY doing this for a living. It seems that many people on here are doing it as a hobby. I’d be curious to know how many people here are making their living by trading (their own money).
Kingbling, the forex market is too big to treat it as a hobby. Treat it as a business and you will make money. Get educated as fast as you can because its going to take some time. It doesnt matter how much other people are making what matters is that you know how to make money in forex and if you can do that - you can repeat that all day long.
There is alot of good advice here. Take the free course from babypips. I’ve traded on paper for three months and started real trading and lost half my fund in a month. Went back to paper and researching [over three hundred hours learning charts and indicators and how to use them. I’m just starting to real trade again and am finding success at it. I have no choice but to do it full time[I blew my knee out at christmas]. Never stop researching. Try different stategies untill you find one that you are comfortable with. I’m taking small trades with the trend for 20 pips and finding success. Look at the USD/JPy at 00:00 and you will find that it moves 20-40 pips in a few hours almost every day.
. I’ll remember that for when the time comes. I personally would trade on the side for atleast a year to see how the market can change with the season and to have atleast double my current salary in reserves. I wouldn’t want a strategy that works great for 6 months just suddenly stop working because of a change in the market. Good Luck to you on whatever you decide. Keep us updated on your progress 