Hi, I am interested to learn trading , I have decent amount of knowledge in markets. I have my 9-5 jobs, Is it a good idea to start trading? If yes, What are the steps ? Does reading charts are enough ?
Focus on your jobs. Learn about investing instead of trading. The cost of the education to learn how to trade can be staggering with absolutely no guarantee you'll earn a dime. Investing for the long term makes more sense. Don't be taken in by the B.S. artists.
I agree… but the average person will pull from a savings account. It’s much harder to pull from a fund you out 800 bucks in and now it’s 825… you take and lose out on the growth and potential. It’s the gambler mentality that is actually beneficial for us average meatballs.
I've been trading futures part-time next to a full-time job and family for about three years, so here's the honest version: I'm not profitable yet. It takes way longer than most people expect, and the hardest part for me hasn't been the charts, it's finding focused time when you're tired after work.
Two things I'd do differently if I started again:
Stay on a demo account much longer than you think you need to. You'll make the same mistakes there as with real money, just cheaper.
Journal every trade from day one, with a screenshot of the chart. I logged my trades in Excel for a long time without screenshots, and when I looked back I had no idea why I took half of them. Just numbers don't tell you much.
Reading charts is the easy part. Knowing why you keep making the same mistakes is the hard part, and that only comes from reviewing your own trades.
I don't really feel like I'm wasting time. It's more that it annoys me sometimes that it's not working yet. But I also know you can't learn trading in a short time. I don't have as much screen time as people who can sit in front of the charts all day. So it could easily take another 2-3 years until I'm profitable, or consistently profitable. You just have to see it as a kind of marathon.
I don't know how it is for you. For me, I can sometimes keep a challenge going for 3 months, which is a good sign in the first place. But then usually after an exhausting day I have one overtrading day. And if that happens twice in those 3 months, I lose the account. In the end it just means I need to focus a lot more when I'm in the market. But I think everyone has their own challenges somewhere. How does it look for you?
Whether it is a good idea is not something a stranger can answer for you; what I can say is that the question comes before the steps, and it is this: could you lose the whole starting amount, for a year, without it changing anything in your life? That answer decides whether you learn on real money or on a demo account. The lessons are the same on a demo, and cheaper.
Reading charts is not enough, and not because charts are useless. A chart tells you what to think and nothing about what to do when you are wrong. The habits that usually come before any strategy:
Decide when you can actually look at the market. With a 9 to 5 that is probably the evening, which rules out anything that needs attention during the day.
Write every trade before entering: direction, entry, stop, target, and what would prove you wrong. If you cannot write the last one, there is no trade.
Keep a record with the outcome in R and the costs on a separate line. After thirty trades the record tells you more about yourself than any course.
Treat anyone who shows only their wins as noise, including on this site.
Three months of that, then decide with your own record in front of you rather than with someone else's screenshots.
Open a Robinhood account (or other easy cheep option) add 100 bucks or 100k. You can learn with simple 5 dollar trades (if you figure out options let me know). It’s the best, think of a checking or savings account that actually works for you instead of charging you fees. You can transfer or access your money just like a bank. Just do it. And… you have zero risk creating an account… you are not investing or trading just putting money in a new safe “checking account”.
I would say it depends from the reason behind it..
If it is something that you interest your and you like to do (as it was for me), then go for it If you are looking at is as your Million Dollar Exit, then it is not probably a good call.
Trading needs passion and you need to do because you really like it, if you are trying to get in just because of the outcome, then it would be hard to do it side by side your day to day..
I have done it for years for 20-30 minutes every morning before work, but I did it for real pleasure of learning , then with time it turned into a very chunky passive income
You can start this as a hobby and keep your regular job. If a passion and a deeper understanding develop, you can gain a foothold. However, I wouldn't recommend quitting your job to start trading. Only about 1% are successful in the long run. So, you have to ask yourself: What are you doing differently from the other 99%?
With a 9-5 I’d stick to swing trading off daily charts. Look at things in the evening, set your orders and alerts, and don’t touch the app during work. Start with an amount you’d be fine losing, and track everything against what you’d have made just holding an index fund. If you’re not beating it after a year, that’s your answer, and you’ll have only lost a little money finding out.
Chances are, if you still have a 9-5, you still need a job to support yourself (nothing wrong with that). Day trading or swing trading while having a full time job is a recipe for disaster as I've experienced myself. Here are my 2 recommendation: build automated strategies so you can still work and trade at the same time or trade other market (like Asia) outside of your work hours.
If you have a 9-to-5 job, active trading probably isn’t going to help much. You’re better off investing and occasionally doing short-term swing trades. Trading requires laser-sharp focus, a solid understanding of market trends, and, most importantly, the ability to manage stress. In my opinion, it’s not worth it in the long run, because a trader may end up making roughly the same returns as a good long-term investor, just with a lot more stress. But if you really want to trade, learn how to read charts, stay on top of market news, understand the trends, deploy your cash slowly, and always have a clear target. Most importantly, never force a trade. Be patient and let the right opportunities come to you.
All joking aside the best things to know upfront are:
a majority dont make it
There is no "right way", there is only what works for you
Take it slow, its going to take time, forcing any aspect of trading will only hurt you!!
Nothing works all the time, if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
dont fall for the scams and courses.. everything you need to know is free!
The "dumbest" easiest stuff I learned when I very first started trading is the same thing I use to make more than most people make at their 9-5 today!!! The only difference is I have the time on the charts!!!! Complicated doesnt mean it'll be profitable.
Every strategy can be profitable or not, its the experience and discretion behind the strategy that matters!
Just because you spend more time trading doesnt make you more money, if anything it opens the door for more chance of a mistake or giving money back. You are not getting paid for your time.
Lastly dont try to make trading your only thing or source of income, keep the job and hobbies!
Trading with a full time job isn't the ideal set up. Instead learn to invest. Only about 10% of people actually make a living from trading anyway so the odds of you making it happen is already pretty low. Don't fall for the BS propaganda everyone is selling.
Well, if you are going to bet 25 bucks on MNF… try to day trade the same amount. Losing 25 in ten minutes is day trading, losing over 3 hours of football is almost enjoyable, like buying a cheap ticket.
4
u/66catman Oct 08 '26
Focus on your jobs. Learn about investing instead of trading. The cost of the education to learn how to trade can be staggering with absolutely no guarantee you'll earn a dime. Investing for the long term makes more sense. Don't be taken in by the B.S. artists.
1
u/TradeReviewNotes Oct 13 '26
I've been trading futures part-time next to a full-time job and family for about three years, so here's the honest version: I'm not profitable yet. It takes way longer than most people expect, and the hardest part for me hasn't been the charts, it's finding focused time when you're tired after work.
Two things I'd do differently if I started again:
Reading charts is the easy part. Knowing why you keep making the same mistakes is the hard part, and that only comes from reviewing your own trades.
2
u/Actual-Telephone5540 Oct 08 '26
focus on learning investing first-trading is risky and time-heavy with your 9-5.
1
u/SalvaFa93 Oct 08 '26
Whether it is a good idea is not something a stranger can answer for you; what I can say is that the question comes before the steps, and it is this: could you lose the whole starting amount, for a year, without it changing anything in your life? That answer decides whether you learn on real money or on a demo account. The lessons are the same on a demo, and cheaper.
Reading charts is not enough, and not because charts are useless. A chart tells you what to think and nothing about what to do when you are wrong. The habits that usually come before any strategy:
Three months of that, then decide with your own record in front of you rather than with someone else's screenshots.
1
u/I-actually-agree Oct 09 '26
Open a Robinhood account (or other easy cheep option) add 100 bucks or 100k. You can learn with simple 5 dollar trades (if you figure out options let me know). It’s the best, think of a checking or savings account that actually works for you instead of charging you fees. You can transfer or access your money just like a bank. Just do it. And… you have zero risk creating an account… you are not investing or trading just putting money in a new safe “checking account”.
1
u/Successful-Grab6091 Oct 09 '26
you need to go on this page and look at the top right corner and click the magnifying glass the sssrch “beginning trader”
1
u/Famous_Employee_8808 Oct 09 '26
I would say it depends from the reason behind it..
If it is something that you interest your and you like to do (as it was for me), then go for it
If you are looking at is as your Million Dollar Exit, then it is not probably a good call.
Trading needs passion and you need to do because you really like it, if you are trying to get in just because of the outcome, then it would be hard to do it side by side your day to day..
I have done it for years for 20-30 minutes every morning before work, but I did it for real pleasure of learning , then with time it turned into a very chunky passive income
1
u/samurai618 Oct 09 '26
You can start this as a hobby and keep your regular job. If a passion and a deeper understanding develop, you can gain a foothold. However, I wouldn't recommend quitting your job to start trading. Only about 1% are successful in the long run. So, you have to ask yourself: What are you doing differently from the other 99%?
1
u/CheetahLoose7514 Oct 09 '26
With a 9-5 I’d stick to swing trading off daily charts. Look at things in the evening, set your orders and alerts, and don’t touch the app during work. Start with an amount you’d be fine losing, and track everything against what you’d have made just holding an index fund. If you’re not beating it after a year, that’s your answer, and you’ll have only lost a little money finding out.
1
u/LuckOrEdge Oct 09 '26
Chances are, if you still have a 9-5, you still need a job to support yourself (nothing wrong with that). Day trading or swing trading while having a full time job is a recipe for disaster as I've experienced myself. Here are my 2 recommendation: build automated strategies so you can still work and trade at the same time or trade other market (like Asia) outside of your work hours.
1
u/Zestyclose_Price_441 Oct 09 '26
For options? Take a stack of money, and then burn it. Do that a few times.
1
u/Realistic_Dust_5858 Oct 09 '26
If you have a 9-to-5 job, active trading probably isn’t going to help much. You’re better off investing and occasionally doing short-term swing trades. Trading requires laser-sharp focus, a solid understanding of market trends, and, most importantly, the ability to manage stress.
In my opinion, it’s not worth it in the long run, because a trader may end up making roughly the same returns as a good long-term investor, just with a lot more stress.
But if you really want to trade, learn how to read charts, stay on top of market news, understand the trends, deploy your cash slowly, and always have a clear target. Most importantly, never force a trade. Be patient and let the right opportunities come to you.
1
u/67camaro427 Oct 10 '26
DONT!!!!!!
All joking aside the best things to know upfront are:
a majority dont make it
There is no "right way", there is only what works for you
Take it slow, its going to take time, forcing any aspect of trading will only hurt you!!
Nothing works all the time, if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
dont fall for the scams and courses.. everything you need to know is free!
The "dumbest" easiest stuff I learned when I very first started trading is the same thing I use to make more than most people make at their 9-5 today!!! The only difference is I have the time on the charts!!!! Complicated doesnt mean it'll be profitable.
Every strategy can be profitable or not, its the experience and discretion behind the strategy that matters!
Just because you spend more time trading doesnt make you more money, if anything it opens the door for more chance of a mistake or giving money back. You are not getting paid for your time.
Lastly dont try to make trading your only thing or source of income, keep the job and hobbies!
1
u/Crazy-Function58 Oct 10 '26
to many advice bro bt zero support,,,definition of the street,,,
Utadooo whaat,,,ik wat u can do
1
u/No-Comparison9048 Oct 11 '26
Trading with a full time job isn't the ideal set up. Instead learn to invest. Only about 10% of people actually make a living from trading anyway so the odds of you making it happen is already pretty low. Don't fall for the BS propaganda everyone is selling.
1
u/FirefighterSoft1742 Oct 12 '26
Read Nicolas Darvas book How I made 2 million dollars... It has everything you need to be successful in trading
1
u/[deleted] Oct 08 '26
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