Saw this tweet and thought about how difficult a full time trading life will be for us average folks. The success stories we read about are for a select few. For the rest of us, we gotta keep that job and work our way slowly to trading more and more until we can actually afford it. For me, I am far from that situation but I’m in no hurry.
There’s nothing wrong with a 9-5 job and there is also nothing wrong with full-time trading but you have to know what the risks and pros/cons are for both vs. blindly leaping. Trading without enough experience and without a stable side job clearly is the way riskier approach.
Here’s the link to the twitter thread in case you want to read more of it:
Being a Full-Time Professional Trader myself, here is my perspective:
There is risk involved regardless of whether you choose a 9-5 job or to trade full-time.
A 9-5 job is not a guaranteed “Holy Grail” as it is vulnerable to Retrenchments, Back-stabbing by colleagues which causes dismissal, or a medical condition which causes you to be unfit for the role.
Trading full-time as your primary source of income also comes with risks:
You are not guaranteed to make money from the markets every single day.
In fact, you might even encounter a losing streak for days, weeks, or even months.
There is no employment benefits such as Paid Annual Leave, Medical Coverage, or Insurance.
One choice is not necessarily better than the other, but at the end of the day, the question is about which type of risks you are able to overcome with confidence and resilience.
A 9-5 job provides a steady source of income. This is for fulfilling your needs. You should be able to have your needs met before you can venture into fulfilling your dreams.
I agree. I just feel like sometimes a lot of people claim full-time trading to be the be all end of all of trading but it is not. It is not the only path.
The fear of winning and self-sabotage could be the reasons for such self-destructive behavior, Not everyone is made to be an entrepreneur which is why the failure rate of businesses is so extremely high.
Successful trading requires knowledge, experience, skills and a great mind set. You can only take it full time if you are making consistent money by trading. Or if you don’t need to worry about your bills and all.
I agree with you. Initially, when you are new to forex. I would not recommend anyone to leave their 9-5 job as it provides a steady source of income. Not everyone is meant for full time trading as it is a risky venture
Full time trading is not for everyone because most of the traders have other jobs and take forex trading as a part time thing and therefore do not have that much time on their hands to trade full time. Then again it depends on the trader. If you want to take day trading then you need to be sure that you can manage.
Trading is definitely not for everyone, The problem is that some people are never ready to accept it and only come to regret it later when they lose their money. That aside not everyone can handle full time trading so they rather invest in other traders.
I also think the risks of going full time are different depending on where you live. For example in the UK I wouldn’t be worried about the healthcare situiation which could be massively impactful in the US. Equally, with this pandemic the UK has been hit relatively badly with job losses so the 9-5 lacks security.
I personally don’t rely on trading as a full time income but as part of my larger income streams and have made an effort to diversify to ensure that when trading is especially tough that I can still pay my bills.
I just feel like sometimes a lot of people claim full-time trading to be the be all end of all of trading but it is not. It is not the only path.
Maybe one day we’ll have our own NHS too.