Brand new to trading!

[jsung8070]

Hello forum

I'm Justin and 20 years old.
Wanting to get into trading (considering forex or futures atm) and hoping this forum can provide a lot of information for me to get started on the right track. I feel like I've read a hundred articles now, but im still just ridiculously confused.

Im sure somewhere on here is the answer to this question, but after hours of reading I havent had a definitive answer to this one important question: Is trading forex or futures right for me?

Im about to enter my 4th year at medical school and although i am willing to put in hard work, I really need to know if 6 months from now, it is realistic that I can still make money after coming home from the hospital and checking the market/trading for only 20 or so minutes per night. If its not possible for forex or futures, what are my alternatives?

If someone could answer that for me, i would be very grateful.

 

[T44]

Swap ya!

What do you reckon to my chances of being a part time doctor if I study 20 mins per night for the next 6 months?

 

[jsung8070]

Thanks for the reply

While i understand the point youre trying to make, i don't think that it is a reasonable and viable comparison. Firstly, I have already stated that I am willing to put in the initial work, and whether maintaining it is possible for a goal of just some side money. Secondly, the process, nature and requirements of training to be a doctor are enormously different to that of becoming a proficient and successful trader.

I do not think it would require 5 to 10 hours every day for approximately 8 years to become a successful trader trying to make a bit of money on the side. I am not looking to replace my income or rack in a fortune, nor am i interested in getting rich quick.

The question as stipulated is asking whether after 6 months of working at it, I can realistically be in a position to trade in the evening for about 20 minutes and maintain a positive expectancy.

Please don't assume that i misunderstand the gravity of the amount of work required, or the commitment necessary. While Im new to trading, this is not a hobby, but the first part of a 20 year plan that I am forming.

 

[DionysusToast]

Trading for 20 minutes per day is not realistic IMO.

 

[jsung8070]

I see. Could you please advise on what would be a realistic amount?
20 minutes was because a friend of mine has been trading forex for a few years now and he says that he only needs to check it about 15 minutes a day for it to be enough. He makes consistent and steady profit annually from it. Of course not nearly enough for sustainable income.

 

[DionysusToast]

You may have to consider your friend is merely talking a good game there, unfortunately.

 

[jsung8070]

Hmm, even as a positions or swing trader? Could you please give me a rough estimate for the amount of time necessary to be spent a day for forex or futures swing or positions trading? Just very simple trading that is enough to get something small but steady. I am completely not interested in day trading.
I know its a very broad question, but if I can just get an idea of what you would consider to be average for those circumstances, that would help a lot in terms of me planning out my future.

 

[paszkman]

Hmm, even as a positions or swing trader? Could you please give me a rough estimate for the amount of time necessary to be spent a day for forex or futures swing or positions trading? Just very simple trading that is enough to get something small but steady. I am completely not interested in day trading.
I know its a very broad question, but if I can just get an idea of what you would consider to be average for those circumstances, that would help a lot in terms of me planning out my future.

if you want small and steady then you should just look at normal investing in something considered safe like bonds and blue chips that pay dividends.

 

[timsk]

Hmm, even as a positions or swing trader? Could you please give me a rough estimate for the amount of time necessary to be spent a day for forex or futures swing or positions trading? Just very simple trading that is enough to get something small but steady. I am completely not interested in day trading.
I know its a very broad question, but if I can just get an idea of what you would consider to be average for those circumstances, that would help a lot in terms of me planning out my future.

Hi jsung8070,
Welcome to T2W.

A 'small but steady income' is the dream many new traders have when they start out. It sounds so reasonable - a bit like lots of people do a second job pulling pints in their local pub or a spot of gardening at the weekends - to help top up their main monthly income. Unfortunately, trading doesn't work that way. It's unlike any other field of human endeavour. You could put in two or three times the number of hours you've put into your medical studies and never make a cent. There are no averages. Anyone who makes a consistent income month on month, year on year, for just 20 minutes work a day will - in all probability - have spent many years of focused study to get to that point. Think of a successful comedian filling a large theatre for their one wo/man show. Yes, they get thousands of dollars for one show lasting an hour or two. But how many years did they spend honing their craft and getting heckled by drunks in clubs and pubs before hitting the big time?

Assuming all goes according to plan in medical school, you'll soon be enjoying a very good salary. In your position, I'd focus on that and, as paszkman advises, put some of your money into long term equity and bond investments. Swing trading forex is highly unlikely to yield what you want it to and could well be a costly distraction from your medical duties.

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but the common thread running through the replies you've received should be setting off a few alarm bells. You are quite correct in saying that you "do not think it would require 5 to 10 hours every day for approximately 8 years to become a successful trader trying to make a bit of money on the side." Many T2W members will tell you it takes longer than that and, even then, there's no guarantee you'll make it or that it will last for very long if you do!

Tim.

 

[DionysusToast]

Hi Jsung,

I am a binary options trader and i make a couple of hundred dollars a night from trading only around 30 mins... very much possible... Dont listen to the haters that cant do it

Charlie

Charlie Walsh - can you explain why you only make a few hundred dollars and not a few thousand?

Are you also in full time employment?

 

[chocabloc]

i found this site and came here thinking just like the op and really believed i was able to make a few hundred quid a week extra pocket money and guess what?? some weeks i was making a 1000 pound a week!!!!!!!!!!! & others not as much . i am 2years down the line and have blown up two 5k accounts. i have mixed feelings on your question. from my experience tells it can be done but you really do need to be very aware of things and be disciplined but then there is a part of me that says it was lack of experience that ultimately took my accounts i actually found that the more i learnt about trading the more i had losses wheras when i just jumped in blindly not knowing sh1t i was actually making money and for me good money too.. but all in all the lack of experience caught me out i have to accept. now days though i feel it is now very difficult/near on impossible for me to lose my account again.

 

[neil]

Don't know what it is -but buy it anyway !

I want to trade binary trading options.

Well -you have a trading strategy VENDING Badge -so you should already know about options. So -are you flogging stuff you know nowt about ?
It will not inspire confidence in your strategies among the people who seek the holy grail of trading :whistling