I'm new to this forum and new to trading stocks. Can anyone recommend a course or program that teaches a newbie how to trade stocks? I've checked out a few of them such as Online Trading Academy. Most of these courses cost over $2000. Seems like a lot. Is there cheaper alternatives out there?
timsk
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Hi werm,
Welcome to T2W.
There are plenty of cheaper options out there. A Google search will reveal any number of them promising mega profits starting from around £100. However, before you start trawling through them all, I recommend you consider these two questions first . . .
1. Why trade stocks?
If you've evaluated the pros and cons of all the available markets and concluded that stocks offer you the best opportunities based on your personal interests and circumstances - well done. If you've not yet done this - then it's a good place to start. If you need some help, check out this FAQ: Which Should I trade - Stocks, Futures or Forex etc.?
2. What do you expect from a course?
In your OP you said that you want "a course or program that teaches a newbie how to trade stocks?" On the face of it, this is a very reasonable question. Unfortunately, other than tuition provided by a prop' firm there isn't a course out there that can do it. Most brokers have very good PDFs and videos etc. that explain the mechanics of trading and how to use their software. Failing that, anyone can teach you the basics of trading (stocks, forex, futures or anything else). However, presumably, this isn't what you meant. The subtext of your question is: is there a course or program that teaches a newbie how to trade stocks profitably?
All anyone offering a course can do is to teach you how they trade. Very few of them will be able to teach you to trade like they do. The difference may sound like I'm splitting hairs - but it's huge. Massive! I've attended lots of courses over the years and, to this day, I can't trade the same way as the people who taught me. This is something most new traders fail to understand - let alone appreciate - when they sign up for a course. On top of this, many courses are little more than scams, operated by people who cobble something together based on material freely available here on T2W and elsewhere.
I'm not anti-courses in any way. On the contrary, I've been on some good ones and I expect I'll go on some more in the future. However, it's a bit of a minefield for a newbie as you need to be extremely clear as to why you're going on the course and what it will or won't do for you. If you're looking for 'the answer', a cookie cutter solution that will enable you to go from being unprofitable to being consistently profitable overnight, then you'll almost certainly be disappointed. Think of a course in terms of getting 1-2-1 footie tuition from David Beckham. Will your ball skills improve? Yes, all other things being equal they will - maybe by a lot. Will it be enough to get you into a premier team? No, almost certainly not.
If you do decide to go on a course, check out these FAQs before getting your wallet out: How Can I Distinguish Between Scams and Reputable Vendors? and Can You Recommend a Mentor, Coach or Trading Course?
Let us know what you decide!
Tim.
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