Hey volkl23,
You've posed a great question with many different and varied responses.
That fact alone should tell you loads about the market, and whether you want to pursue this game fulltime or not!
If indeed you do, it might help if you pull out a piece-o-paper and write down all of your Pros and Cons.
It might look something like this:
Pros
1. Supportive family (no matter what your mom might say, the fact that you paid her back her 20 large from your winnings in the market makes you look HUGE in her eyes, "son".
2. You are soo young, you have plenty of the one commodity that we cannot replace ... time.
3. You have the best education that a new trader could have. Yeah that's right, the game is about 15% technicals - as 1000 pointed out, you don't even need to know a lot of the details of how things work and you can still do very well ... (truce bro) - and 85% psychology (fear and greed baby, fear and greed). So you're way ahead of the game compared to most (and there is also the critical skills developed in college, discipline acquired to complete the degree, etc.) So your education serves you well just as it is.
4. You have no pressing commitments (wifey with her wants and needs, a baby or three, mortgage-monkey on your back). So once again, the time element is working FOR YOU, and that alone gives you a very good edge. (makes you think twice about investing all that time and money and energy and will and imagination into a career that you don't even want, huh?).
5. As you can see from the other posts, it takes all kinds, and if you get it right and figure out exactly how you want to play the markets and develop a system(s) with positive expectation, you most definitely can win ... consistently ... over time.
Cheese made another excellent point (yeah, he beat me to it, and said it better than I could have). You can go with:
(a) stocks,
(b) financial futures,
(c) commodity futures,
(d) currencies,
(e) options on any of the above etc., and learn how to hedge your position(s) so that a net loosing month is very unlikely (and would be due to the financial system malfunctioning rather than your trading system P.S. It can and does happen!).
6. So, get a nighttime job (restaurants LOVE well educated waiters and bartenders), hon and develop your skills during the day (keep a diary, run if-then scenarios until you know your setups by heart while they are happening, keep good financial records of every trade, etc.), and see what can happen in five years (my ex-roomie did it using that formula - and I'm one step behind'em - now he's literally living the life of Riley).
Best of Luck,
Jimmy
P.S.
Oh yeah, the Cons
1. It's a solitary game.
2. Most people won't understand you.
3. You'll need to develop and have a good circle of friends to help you "get away from the markets" when the day is done.
4. Whatever else you or anyone else can come up with.
Ultimately it's gonna be up to you, you have to make all of your own decisions, take responsibility for them and live with the consequences of your actions, that's what I love about it.
You've posed a great question with many different and varied responses.
That fact alone should tell you loads about the market, and whether you want to pursue this game fulltime or not!
If indeed you do, it might help if you pull out a piece-o-paper and write down all of your Pros and Cons.
It might look something like this:
Pros
1. Supportive family (no matter what your mom might say, the fact that you paid her back her 20 large from your winnings in the market makes you look HUGE in her eyes, "son".
2. You are soo young, you have plenty of the one commodity that we cannot replace ... time.
3. You have the best education that a new trader could have. Yeah that's right, the game is about 15% technicals - as 1000 pointed out, you don't even need to know a lot of the details of how things work and you can still do very well ... (truce bro) - and 85% psychology (fear and greed baby, fear and greed). So you're way ahead of the game compared to most (and there is also the critical skills developed in college, discipline acquired to complete the degree, etc.) So your education serves you well just as it is.
4. You have no pressing commitments (wifey with her wants and needs, a baby or three, mortgage-monkey on your back). So once again, the time element is working FOR YOU, and that alone gives you a very good edge. (makes you think twice about investing all that time and money and energy and will and imagination into a career that you don't even want, huh?).
5. As you can see from the other posts, it takes all kinds, and if you get it right and figure out exactly how you want to play the markets and develop a system(s) with positive expectation, you most definitely can win ... consistently ... over time.
Cheese made another excellent point (yeah, he beat me to it, and said it better than I could have). You can go with:
(a) stocks,
(b) financial futures,
(c) commodity futures,
(d) currencies,
(e) options on any of the above etc., and learn how to hedge your position(s) so that a net loosing month is very unlikely (and would be due to the financial system malfunctioning rather than your trading system P.S. It can and does happen!).
6. So, get a nighttime job (restaurants LOVE well educated waiters and bartenders), hon and develop your skills during the day (keep a diary, run if-then scenarios until you know your setups by heart while they are happening, keep good financial records of every trade, etc.), and see what can happen in five years (my ex-roomie did it using that formula - and I'm one step behind'em - now he's literally living the life of Riley).
Best of Luck,
Jimmy
P.S.
Oh yeah, the Cons
1. It's a solitary game.
2. Most people won't understand you.
3. You'll need to develop and have a good circle of friends to help you "get away from the markets" when the day is done.
4. Whatever else you or anyone else can come up with.
Ultimately it's gonna be up to you, you have to make all of your own decisions, take responsibility for them and live with the consequences of your actions, that's what I love about it.
