How come you don’t just start trading full time?
October 29, 2008
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John Forman - The Essentials of Trading author
How come you don’t just start trading full time? Wouldn’t it be more lucrative then working the day job?
This is a question I get from time to time. Actually, on occassion I’m accused of not trading for a living, as if that’s some kind of trading blaspemy.
Guess what? Most traders do not trade for a living or full-time or anything like that. A lot of folks may have aspirations to do so, but it’s a relatively small fraction who actually do so - and no, that isn’t necessarily an indication of success. There have been plenty of full-time traders who have had to go back to real jobs, believe me.
For my part, I’ve never had any desire to trade for a living. My interests are numerous and varied. While I definitely enjoy being in the market, I prefer to do my trading part-time. What’s more, I tend to see my best trading performance away from short-term timeframes. On top of that, my job is as a market analytst. I’m good at it, it pays me well, and there’s basically no risk of actually losing money. Plus, I get access to information and resources that I wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise.
So that’s my position on the subject. I encourage you to share yours as well.
Here are some other posts which might interest you:
I think the essence of the above answer is “it’s much more (if not only) profitable, secure and fun to teach other idiots to trade than to do it myself”.
Alex - I should delete your comment all together for that “idiot” comment. I’m not one to censure, though, so I’ll just say one thing. My educational efforts don’t provided me with much in the way of personal gain as I channel the net revenue into a youth volleyball operation. I’ve got no problem with cynicism, but you should actually do some research before you paint someone with a “just in it for the money” brush.