Day trading the stock market with a full time job? ...or Swing trade? Please help!

qxr1011 said:
i think here you talking about very considerable time frame, probably 10-15 years

also 3k is not enough, imho u will need at least 50k
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For an inexperienced trader such as myself, i would have thought a constant income would prove more productive and less risky than using a much larger lump sum; by using a constant income I would be risking so much less and learning at the same time.

Did it take you 10 to 15 years to be consistently profitable?
 
panvulcon said:
For an inexperienced trader such as myself, i would have thought a constant income would prove more productive and less risky than using a much larger lump sum; by using a constant income I would be risking so much less and learning at the same time.
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i have no problem with constant income, but to make a living trading 3k is impossible.. unless may be if one will move to Bangladesh :)
 
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I swing / position trade with a full time job and would say its realistically possible to aim for 20 to 80% on large sums this way. Less stress and less time than day trading. But 3k just isnt a worthwhile amount to spend the time on other than just for learning. Once you get experience and a good environment for you trading is available then consider borrowing money (remortgage etc) to get a reasonable amount ca 50,000 GBP. It cuts years and years of the doubling process on small amounts. Double 50,000 GBP three times and you have 400,000 GBP which can change your life..... double 3,000 GBP three time and you still only have 24,000 GBP.
 
qxr1011 said:
i have no problem with constant income, but to make a living trading 3k is impossible
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I understand what you're saying now. Yes 3k would be an unrealistic amount to start with if I were planning to leave my job and trade full time. If or rather when (Positive thinking ) I become consistentley profitable I should have enough capital behind me to leave my job or work part time. As you say, things aren't going to happen overnight!
 
Jakobsberg said:
I swing / position trade with a full time job and would say its realistically possible to aim for 20 to 80% on large sums this way. Less stress and less time than day trading. But 3k just isnt a worthwhile amount to spend the time on other than just for learning. Once you get experience and a good environment for you trading is available then consider borrowing money (remortgage etc) to get a reasonable amount ca 50,000 GBP. It cuts years and years of the doubling process on small amounts. Double 50,000 GBP three times and you have 400,000 GBP which can change your life..... double 3,000 GBP three time and you still only have 24,000 GBP.
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Are you from the UK too? What markets do you trade on?

... For the time being I would be aiming to learn the trade, any earnings would be like pocket money I guess. A plus for me, and this might sound a little boring, but I have actually enjoyed the past six months spent learning. I find it quite fascinating, it certainly isn't a chore and who knows, by the time I'm confident enough to up the anti I might have access to more money.
 
Come up with a set it and forget it trading strategy.


Enter bracket orders with a stop limit order specifying your stop loss and your target.


Place your order before the market opens and then forget about it until the position closes.
 
panvulcon said:
Smart money, thanks for your reply. I certainly won't be using leverage, far too risky for me! I hav a few questions for you if you have time. Do you trade full time then? How long do you typically hold your trades and how many concurrent positions do you hold? What is your balance between time spent doing fundamental analysis vs technical analysis?
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I usually swing trade 2 to 4 positions. I don't do it full time...I have a day job. I follow a couple dozen stocks, so only a handful meet my criteria for a buy-in at a time. I usually know which ones to monitor closely well before I buy-in since I can see a set up forming at least a day in advance. This makes it possible to sneak a little time at work to make the trades or check on progress. Sometimes I set limit orders or trailing stops depending on where I feel the stock is in the cycle. For example, some stocks tend to fall hard when they do collapse, so I always use a trailing stop. Others tend to land softly, so I put in a sell order at my target price instead. I use Scottrade, so I am forced to choose between what kind of sell order I can place...wish they had one like "If Condition A is met, then sell or if Condition B is met, then sell". I hardly do any fundamental analysis at all, but I do trade in companies that I think will do better over time...like right now I'm in SO and COST.

If you have 3K to work with, I would suggest that you only hold one position at a time. You will find the 3-day fun clearance policy to be a pain, so develop a strategy where you will tend to hold longer for better gains. Look for stocks with a pattern that almost appears like a straight line upward with low volatility. And be "OK" with losing 4 out of 10. Bracket orders are smart.
 
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Boy do I feel stupid! This thread inspired me to search Scottrade one more time to see if they have a bracket order. I just found it. I had looked for it before, but I didn't recognize it. This is Karma in action folks...I do help people here and this was my payback. This will really help me make more money.
 
Brackets are just a sequenced/triggered OCO order. There's an entry order which triggers another order. The other order is a limit + stop with OCO set. Any broker which can queue this on their side can handle "brackets."

You're better off with IB, rather than Scottrade, IMO.
 
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