Here is my advice and it comes from part of my experience.
First, cover your expenses and standard of living. Expect no money from trading, your best focus will be on the skill of trading. If you have never made a lot of money before, then you may need to work on that issue and have to find a way. If you are not used to losing money, even if its to ultimately win, that takes adjustment and work as well.
Cover your living expenses with an outside job. Then pick a trading system (method and time allocation) that you can fit into that life. Earn a good return, build up an account. Your account that (equity) you build on your allocated time will tell you when you can be a professional trader, when you won't have to work an outside job and when trading covers your expenses.
Trading is like a sport. Great athletes in most sports start out playing for fun as they develop their skills. If Micheal Jordan would have gone pro in high school, he would have been broke. (He didn't make his high school team his first year). Think of how many years athletes spend playing for no money, while they eat on their parents' coaches or managment companies tab.
It takes time to develop high leverage skills (trading, athletics, music). While some may disagree (cause I know many traders who put all the pressure on themselves to sink or swim) and say that its best to HAVE to make money, more that I know that went that way have sunk a few times...its a rocky road.
Thats just my experience....so I'll pass it along to you. There are many ways to skin this cat, however.
Keep it fun and stay on top of your finances while you learn. If you do that, even if your first trading plan fails, you will find it not very difficult to make a new plan and begin againg.
PA
