time frame is just as important as entry, if your planning on holding for a year, what its done the last week is not that important. since your not scalping with 3k, you should not base your desicion of each days action, but look at 3 month minimum, along with 6month, 1 year, 2 year , up to 5 or so, and that along with any other ta, economics data etc.. decide on those things, not the volatile daily chop of the current market, small tip for thinking outside the box, if you find a nice trend but its in a stock that has too low volume or too expensive for you check out
http://www.market-topology.com and see what its highly correlated with, and or inversely correlated. also maybe a pairs trade and or a hedged trade may be a comfortable way to enter if you make the right choice. either way im a firm believer you need an edge to some degree, or at least some firm plan . this is important so that when things go wrong you can have firm thoughts on where your decision making may have been wrong, if your just going off basics with out alot of experience in price action then when things go wrong you will only know that your guess was wrong , and hopefully you guess better next time, this will not allow you to grow. and if you want to do yourself a favour dont buy because you think the stock has been falling enough, or sell because you think its gone up enough, this is catching falling knifes, and statistically on longer term trades it will kill you, but this all depends on your time frame, if the trend is up on a 1 year chart, and the past 2 months its dumping, well if your looking longer term as in a year, than a long is ok, so then its ok to catch the knife on that time frame for that length of hold. kinda get it? you need to decide your time frame, than you can research the potential. but if your just wanting quick cash , short term, then short term will be your career also. anyhow ive done enough rambling. but think outside the box, with firm reasoning, have good risk and money managment, LEARN from your mistakes, and you will eventually make it imho.