I think Rachid's right on the money with his post.
I started day trading mid-July last year and started out with fantastic gains. I was trading full time with no distractions right after a nice vacation. In late August I resumed work on a post-grad teacher certification program because I wanted a backup in case trading failed.
The classes with in-classroom practicums demanded 30 hours a week of my time, and trading for a living while learning to trade took up another 50 hours a week (a lot of research and review every day after the close and on weekends). Once classes resumed I was stressed to the gills and began losing money, then losing confidence. In November I cut back to a single 1-credit class and had a small profitable month. By mid-December I decided to take a break from school (couldn't afford it for one thing) and focus on trading full time. December was a slightly more profitable month, and first quarter this year was fantastic as I focused completely on trading. I was up 30% on the year until I had to relearn a lesson again that hadn't stuck. (You can be rockin' it 95% of the time and blow it on that one exception to your rules.)
I don't think I would've made progress if I hadn't made the full time commitment and de-stressed my life. So my take on it is work a regular job and save up enough to trade full time long enough to see if you can be successful. When you do this, MASTER RISK MANAGEMENT so it's totally inviolable. I'll repeat this it's that important: You can blow it on that one exception to your rules.
You may already follow this journal, but if not, I recommend it highly; it's a clinic in how to be a successful trader: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=148752
I started day trading mid-July last year and started out with fantastic gains. I was trading full time with no distractions right after a nice vacation. In late August I resumed work on a post-grad teacher certification program because I wanted a backup in case trading failed.
The classes with in-classroom practicums demanded 30 hours a week of my time, and trading for a living while learning to trade took up another 50 hours a week (a lot of research and review every day after the close and on weekends). Once classes resumed I was stressed to the gills and began losing money, then losing confidence. In November I cut back to a single 1-credit class and had a small profitable month. By mid-December I decided to take a break from school (couldn't afford it for one thing) and focus on trading full time. December was a slightly more profitable month, and first quarter this year was fantastic as I focused completely on trading. I was up 30% on the year until I had to relearn a lesson again that hadn't stuck. (You can be rockin' it 95% of the time and blow it on that one exception to your rules.)
I don't think I would've made progress if I hadn't made the full time commitment and de-stressed my life. So my take on it is work a regular job and save up enough to trade full time long enough to see if you can be successful. When you do this, MASTER RISK MANAGEMENT so it's totally inviolable. I'll repeat this it's that important: You can blow it on that one exception to your rules.
You may already follow this journal, but if not, I recommend it highly; it's a clinic in how to be a successful trader: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=148752
