Originally posted by catcando
. Let me put it more directly. I am considering going full time with 30K and plan to make a high 5, low 6 figure income after the first several months of trial and error. Is this realistic? .
I don't know what your backround is. I was a stockbroker for a few years as were a lot of daytraders. Whether this was an advantage or disadvantage can be argued. Then I was an on the floor market maker for several years. Again, I don't know if this was a help or hinderance.
I went to work as a daytrader for a trading firm in 1996. I started with 125k (of their money). I held my own, and was raised to 250k in a short time. My income for that first year (which was really 9 months, was 16k. My next year (a full year) was better, but still less than 30k. My best years my average got up to about 300k+. But by this time I had a lot more buying power, and a cooperative market. In 2001, I had an ok first half, and a losing second half. My total income was less than 100k
So I believe there is potential, but is it realistic to make the kind of money you are talking about in the first several months of "trial and error"? I truly doubt it.
Now there are people that make posts on this site (Treykool comes to mind)....that are super stars right away. I work in a firm with over 1000 traders. I know the stats. More people than not don't make anything their first year, and their first two in many cases. And they are trained. And they have way more than 30k to work with. They learn from their mistakes. They have rules to follow (which IMHO are imposed not so much to help them make money, but to help them from losing).
Now I consider myself a better than average trader. But in this market, I am still struggling. I am just getting by, and the stats say I am in the top 20% of my firm. I will in all likelihood be going to another firm very soon in which I will be able to trade different styles and fall back on what I know from my days as a Market Maker. My wins will be smaller (% wise), but my success rate should be much greater. But this will involve some very sophisticated strategies, which cannot be implemented without being a BD or MM. I could not do this from home without a HUGE amount of money, and even then, because different rules apply, I doubt the strategies would pay off after requirements (margin) and commisions.
I don't want to discourage you. I think trading is the greatest way to earn a living. I just think you need to be realistic. You need to understand the learning curve can be long and not particularly steep. Plan on not making a lot of money for a while. Don't get into financial straights. Be patient and your time will come.
I know you will hear different. I know from reading posts here than just about everyone but me makes a ton of money right away. I just wonder if this is a site that attracts only the born to win trading geniuses. Hope you are one of them. I was not, am not, and yet am at the top of my firm, which is well capitalized and staffed with well trained traders. Many of which have been around for 15 years or so.
I wish you all the best of luck. I hope that the 30k is not your life savings. In any event, go slow, learn from your mistakes, and take your losers quickly. Better to lose a little on what later turns out to be a winning trade than to get into the wish and hope and pray mode. You can always get back into at trade. There is always another trade. Don't stay married to the losers!
