How to become a stock trader?

I stumbled upon this thread on the newbie faq board and its the same question I was thinking about asking.

I'm actually in the same boat, I'm a econ major with a minor in finance.

You might as well get in education, its always something to fall back on. Like other people have said on here, you can get a job at a financial institiution while you trade on the side. Who knows? You might be able to quit your day job after 5-10 years and sit nice!:eek:
 
Fill your mouth with marbles, each time you make a trade spit one out... when you've lost all your marbles you're a stock trader.
 
Quote from TSGannGalt:


Open an account and start trading... (bad advice for a newbie, but it's true)


Not bad advice at all....cleansing the emotional diahrea; produced when real money is on the line and real money is lost ..should be the first step, first chapter, first advice . No book , chart or guru can teach better then a puckered ass...hahahahahahahahha .peace
 
Quote from ken__0:

or u could always join the army read some books, shoot some guns. I hear they have a great exercise program you can even learn a skill/trade
after 2/6 years and your out youl haved some money saved up and your higher education paid for.

Lol. This guys hilairous. After being on a submarine community for 3.5 years I'm about to get of of the Navy as an E5 with a large savings and go back to school fulltime. I don't regret joining but it just wans't for me. I wish you all the best of luck.
 
Yep, losing real cash will get you sharp or very broke. Also finding out your broker is only interested in 'churning' your account!
First day's trading in futures (yeah, I'm new too) cost me $42,600 in commissions and 'fees'. :mad: 240 half-assed positions that universally bombed out, finishing off the other $38,000.
Now have reparations action filed with NFA.
 
Quote from sweetbros:

Lol. This guys hilairous. After being on a submarine community for 3.5 years I'm about to get of of the Navy as an E5 with a large savings and go back to school fulltime. I don't regret joining but it just wans't for me. I wish you all the best of luck.
Or join the Army and get into the bomb squad... the pressure of the market is nothing compare to deciding which wire to cut first...
 
I'll assume at 22 you don't have much money for a trading account.

Here's a 10 yr. plan. I know, it seems like a long time @ 22 yrs. old, but it goes by fast.

1) Go to college and study something you find interesting.

2) Meet as many girls and have as good a time as you possibly can, while maintaining good grades. These years will be some of the BEST years of your life. Remember, you're already 22. Get started NOW.

3) Get a job in a field that you'd enjoy.

4) During these working years save as much money as you possibly can while still balancing it with playtime.

5) As these years go by, you should be reading about trading as often as possible and have a cheap source of data and charts to use in your spare time. You'll determine during these years what kind of trader you want to be, and you'll probably change your mind a few times.

6) Once you feel confident with your knowledge, trade with very, very small size during vacations or whenever you get time to see if you're suited for this type of work. Many aren't.

7) This last step will be the toughest, because you'll have to figure out a way to trade fulltime without burning bridges to fulltime employment in case trading doesn't work out.

Good Luck
 
Quote from brownsfan019:

Justin - if you decide that being a trader is what you want to do, here are some ideas of classes or directions to take:
> Computer programming - can be extremely useful in trading.
> Finance - some finance classes would be good for general info.
> Msft Office - learn how Excel and Access work inside and out.
> "Trading" courses - some schools now have active portfolio mgmt classes, see if anything is available as this gives you a chance to get your feet wet.

That is what I wish someone would have told me to focus on when looking at this career path. As a major, I would probably lean towards the computer programming part and then minor in finance or econ.

Good luck!
I wanna know more.......may you tell me?
I'm a finance graduate. And I also had some related knowledge about financial engineering......Yet my programming skills only stay at my high school level because my professors don't teach me about it.

So if I wanna enter into a master degree in (quantitative) finance, is it really a necessity to master C++ or Matlab or etc first? I have confidence in my econometrics knowledge, and some concepts on stochastic calculus. But is it not enough? If yes, what do I have to pursue more?

Thanks !
 
Quote from sweetbros:

Lol. This guys hilairous. After being on a submarine community for 3.5 years I'm about to get of of the Navy as an E5 with a large savings and go back to school fulltime. I don't regret joining but it just wans't for me. I wish you all the best of luck.

Yeah that seems like what most kids gotta do these days army natl guard's offering a massive bonus to join and go active first.
good luck in school.
dont go blowing all your savings on trading only blow one third of it.
then Go pan for gold
:D
 
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