For some reason lately I have had a number of discussions with people who a trying to decide if they should quit their jobs and trade for a living.
One gentleman I spoke to last week had been trading part-time for a number of years and was dying to leave his job, which he hated, and move into the world of full-time trading. I listened intently to what he had to say, and tried to answer the questions he was asking about the process. But at one point in the conversation a thought struck me, and since I usually say what I am thinking, I just blurted it out…
“Maybe you shouldn’t be trading for a living? Maybe you just need to get a different job; one that you like, and then continue trading on the side?”
Look, the idea of chucking it all and trading for a living is very sexy, but it is not the most realistic plan for most people. If somebody really has the chops and a solid plan to attempt it, I am all for it, but if there is any hesitation, or I sense any questioning of the idea, there are better alternatives.
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For more info on trading for a living, check out my series So You Want To Trade For A Living.
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SWING TRADING
The first option is to only swing trade the markets. If you do your homework after the market closes, studying charts, watching for setups, and finding entry exit points, you should be able to enter you stop or limit orders at night before you go to bed. They can either be bracket orders which will automatically place a stop and/or target once a position is opened, or you can be alerted during the day when you position is live via email or text message and then place your managing orders.
Swing trade positions do not require very much management and if you know what you are doing you should be able to make a decent income from those types of trades while keeping your (steady paycheck) full-time job.
TRADE THE OPEN
Another alternative is to only trade the open. A West Coast trader can trade the first two hours and still have enough time to get into work on time. And depending on the flexibility of your hours, even if you are back East, you may be able to trade the first hour or so. This of course requires creating a methodology that takes advantage of the volatility during the morning session, but can be done with a little work.
The point is, trading full-time may be mutually exclusive to working full-time, but trading enough or in a way that makes you a similar income to if you were trading full-time, is not. And that may be a better plan than quitting your job to try and trade for a living.
