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The life of a part-time trader can be really tough. We’re busy at our full time jobs not able to really watch the markets like we would like to. Some of us have goals of becoming full time traders while others see it as a means for of retirement. We must be realistic with these goals as part time market participants. Most of us will probably never become full time traders. From the outside looking in it’s a lifestyle most of us envy. The potential to make big money, set your own hours (for the most part), be your own boss; these are all great positives.
Don’t forget none of this comes easy, and if you ask any professional it took years to get there. There were many trials and tribulations along the way. You have to ask yourself, “Do I have what it takes to survive setbacks and keep moving forward”? Dealing with these pains as investors is never easy, but we can not forget what pays the bills for now. When we learn to become realistic with our time frames and goals, trading the market will become a lot easier.
8 Responses to “Are you a Part-time trader?”
MX2101
btw- The smartphone has been very helpful for discreetly watching the market and trading during my “day job” I’ve stopped all personal Internet use of my employer’s computer and network.
gregnb
haha, speaking to the master of discrete trading my friend! I work as a software developer and I keep my platform running on my mobile phone. Twitter runs off my work PC. It’s not ideal, but beggars can choosers here..
fake amish
No.
Halfbloodpope
Great post! I have placed many of trades from the toilet at work (only place without cameras).
Bozo on a bus
My old company got tougher and tougher on non-work related computer use. I ended up using a phone handset modem adapter to get dial-up access (at all of 9.6kB) via the company’s digital phone system. Painfully slow, but as it was a local call, essentially untraceable.
I watch the markets full time now, but I’m not making any more money than I was when I was working. The grass is always greener….
Ultramarine1
Wow, having to be discrete about trading would drive me nuts. I work for a financial institution but they allow you to trade, as long as you don’t let it interfere with your work.
If I had to hide my trading then I would look for another place to work that was more trade-friendly, as long as the job market was accommodating.
Yogi and Boo Boo
I always worked for companies that allowed me to trade. Either the owners were traders themselves, or they were supportive of traders. Granted we routinely put in 60-80 hour weeks and were on call basically 7 days a week.
Given that, you do not need to be full time to be successful. There are plenty of strategies that you can implement to be successful and part time, while you work towards full time status.
gregnb
Agreed, if you do your homework you should be more than fine. Set your stops since you can’t monitor to keep you safe just incase. Since there’s no pressure of earning a living from this it should allow you to only take the best possible setups