I agree. You can get a demo account for just about any platform/software out there. The Platform I use can be found at:
www.InfinityFutures.com
The demo account lasts for 30 days and includes free charts.
Unless it would be too much of a culture shock for you to make your living at home verses the 9-5 grind I would strongly suggest taking the independent trader route. There are tons of resources out there. Some free, some you have to pay for. Some of the ones you pay for are not worth the...
Great Article
Here is a short video I created on treating trading like a business to supplement this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTUjmeQ5VQY
Cheers
Thats a good way to look at learning to trade. Take your time and learn one concept on trading at a time.
Here is a cool video that I have created on system building. I hope that it will be a small help to you along your journey of learning this business.
Cheers