Trading part-time on 1 day a week?

  • Thread starter Thread starter lukas
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lukas

Among all people here, I am pretty sure most of you are in a position similar to mine where you work full-time in a non-trading job. How do you find time to trade? What do you think is the best route to take to transition to full-time trading?

I have a plan to take 1 day off work each week to trade but according to my calculations it will be at a loss to me, as it will not cover fixed costs, lost income and generate at least the same amount as lost income in profit as anything less would not be worth the risk.

The drawbacks I see is mainly my concern about excessive loss limits - I would need to aim at making at least $1,000, and be willing to lose $1,000 a day which is more than I would like, if I was trading every day of the week.

All in all, this will give me about 60 trading days a year (including holidays). Do you think it is a good idea?
 
Why not look into trading Futures that are active before or after your job? The 6E futures are very active after 2am cst. You could trade the yen in the evenings. You could trade the CL oil futures.
 
lukas said:
Among all people here, I am pretty sure most of you are in a position similar to mine where you work full-time in a non-trading job. How do you find time to trade? What do you think is the best route to take to transition to full-time trading?

I have a plan to take 1 day off work each week to trade but according to my calculations it will be at a loss to me, as it will not cover fixed costs, lost income and generate at least the same amount as lost income in profit as anything less would not be worth the risk.

The drawbacks I see is mainly my concern about excessive loss limits - I would need to aim at making at least $1,000, and be willing to lose $1,000 a day which is more than I would like, if I was trading every day of the week.

All in all, this will give me about 60 trading days a year (including holidays). Do you think it is a good idea?
More...

like ALL amateurs (and 99.9% wannabe professionals) u do not know what u doing

so do not trade real money , unless it's a hobby (but then 1 grand per trading day is very expensive hobby)

now, if you want to become the professional you need to develop the working method,

the problem is you do not have time... (not even talking about money and talent) to develop that method

that's the truth ... :(

"The truth is like poetry-- And most people fucking hate poetry," - Overheard in a Washington D.C. bar by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short
 
wartrace said:
Why not look into trading Futures that are active before or after your job? The 6E futures are very active after 2am cst. You could trade the yen in the evenings. You could trade the CL oil futures.
More...

That's what I have been doing for a long time. But I do not like that idea as a serious long-term solution as it forces me to trade in a way that I consider inappropriate for my "style".
 
qxr1011 said:
like ALL amateurs (and 99.9% wannabe professionals) u do not know what u doing

so do not trade real money , unless it's a hobby (but then 1 grand per trading day is very expensive hobby)

now, if you want to become the professional you need to develop the working method,

the problem is you do not have time... (not even talking about money and talent) to develop that method

that's the truth ... :(

"The truth is like poetry-- And most people fucking hate poetry," - Overheard in a Washington D.C. bar by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short
More...

First of all, watch your mouth, mate, cause you do not know who you're talking to. I am a former prop-trader, I have a track record from this period showing my profitability. I had to go on and work in a different industry due to the prop shop going bust and my plan to save enough money to trade on my own. Now I came to a conclusion it would take too much time and I want to smoothly transform back to being a full-time trader. Perhaps it was my mistake and I should have looked for another trading job. I chose security of income and savings growth and I cannot turn it back.

I have proved to myself that I do have talent and a method. All I need now is capital. Hence I want to keep my job which generates some savings, even with 1 day a week off, and trade to make this capital building process faster.
 
It'll be at a loss initially until your account builds / gets added to.

Personally, I think you should phase it in slower, 1/2 day per week or 1 day 2 weekly maybe ??

You need some transition time, but also need to make money to add, so until your profit expectation is => than your wage lost, your better off working and adding that extra day to your account.

Can you not adapt, to trade an hour or 2 most days after work ??
 
it's not like a fairy would bring you a trading opportunity on that day of a week. it'd take a lot of researches and preparation to find the opportunity. I'd rather swing trade than day trade if I were in your position.
 
Not a good idea at all.

When trading only 1 day a week you limit yourself to whatever happens on that specific day. You could miss out on a great day for trading. Also, you're not actively following the markets as much as you would when trading 5 days or better yet full time....
 
With today's technology you can trade all 5 days while working full time, ofcourse a desk job. just have several alerts on your platform to help you take a glimpse on the markets. Ofcourse, run a paper trading course for few months atleast to insure it is operationally convenient atleast.
 
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