Trade While Holding on to Your Day Job

[4EverMaAT 10]

I didnt realize there was such an expat community here. Especially for a single trader, i think thailand has a good mix of internet options, cheap living arrangements, and beautiful, friendly women to make this worth your while.

 

In retrospect, i wish i'd known about this option earlier. Sure the infrastructure wasnt exactly the same 10 years ago, but i think i would have enjoyed it anyway. Especially for the beginner trader, it's difficult to trade when you know that if you lose, you may have a problem paying the rent next month. So by reducing that large expense (rent), and being able to scale your other utilities allows the budget tader to focus on strategy/position sizing. Your not living trade-by-trade hoping that your losses are not too large.

 

But you' have to either automate your strategy or live off of saving while you get your manual setup going (entirely doable depending on your wants). Seems difficult to find work out here that would pay a worthy salary, unless you teach english. Better to have a freelance work or other types of flexible workig conditions like seasonal work and do "split shift living" similar to how people will go to hawaii for 6 months out of the year and then stay on thh mainland usa for the other 6. the airfare is comparible to that of an intl airfare, and the cost of living wasnt much lower. Your dollar goes much further in thailand.

[Obsidian 10]

There are many foreigners coming to Asia to work or enjoy their retirement. There is a huge difference in cost of living, compared to Europe and U.S.

For a trader there are extra advantages of course. especially time difference. You can come back home from work and start trading with London session.

[Ammeo 10]

I have a day job and i trade during my day job..my boss doesnt say anything to me over it..

bt i have to say ---> Day job first ,trading 2nd ...

[MadMarketScientist 11]

  Obsidian said:

There are many foreigners coming to Asia to work or enjoy their retirement. There is a huge difference in cost of living, compared to Europe and U.S.

For a trader there are extra advantages of course. especially time difference. You can come back home from work and start trading with London session.

 

I'm in Shanghai right now and trying to trade the NY session is terrible ... unless you are a night owl and want to stay up well past midnight.

 

MMS

[Tams 20]

  MadMarketScientist said:

I'm in Shanghai right now and trying to trade the NY session is terrible ... unless you are a night owl and want to stay up well past midnight.

 

MMS

 

that's why I also trade hsi... so that i can cross the time zones.

[GoodTrader1 10]

Create a watchlist of stocks or ETFs during the weekend, define your entry setup, your stop loss and your exit setup.

 

Find a period of 30 minutes during the day you can monitor the market and make your trades.

 

This solution is valid for swing trading, where your trades last for days to weeks.

 

Happy Trading!

[4xtrader2 10]

I just saw this thread and wanted to share my experience. I have been trading for almost 10 years while working a day job but haven't been successful until I decided to create a trading strategy that specifically addresses the issue of sustainability in my absence. In other words the strategy must work while you are working, sleeping, and not at the computer watching the market. I first started formulating this strategy almost 5 years ago and have refined it until last year when I finally became consistent at it. However, it has taken me literally thousands of hours of research and testing in both demo and live markets. It isn't easy but it is doable. You can also create a successful strategy to do the same but be prepared to spend a significant amount of time defining it and refining it.

 

Basically the strategy you decide to build must address the issues of what to do when the market moves (for and against you). Your strategy must address how you enter trades and how you get out when you reach your profit target or stop loss. It must take into account when the market abruptly or temporarily moves against you. You must also address what is the risk you are willing to accept. You must never assume that the market will go the direction you expect. More often than not, the market will not do what you expect it to do. Observe and respond to what you see, not what you hope will happen.

 

My strategy is a moving average crossover strategy using multiple timeframes and entry/exit points. I trade the forex spot market and currently make more than my day job. But it has come at a price of working nights and weekends analyzing my performance, my personal behavior, and most of all the market. The keys to success will be perseverance, hard work, and being honest with yourself. No one can hand you the Holy Grail; you will have to work for it.

[edgararakelyan 10]

  Steve66 said:

You can build a swing trading strategy that works for your situation. There are lots of traders that have full time jobs. With today's mobile apps and alerts you can make it happen. Find a platform that has what you need and go for it.

 

Yea this is mainly what I do, I use my mobile app or carry my ipad in my bag, rather than a day job I have school.

[jiken 10]

I do trade where there is a free time. Either to use my mobile or I use MT4. As long as my work is not being disturbed.

[morpheustrading 10]

Just wanted to give my 2 cents to say the book below is definitely worthwhile reading. I read it back in my formative years. If you follow the strategy detailed in that book, you can definitely do it while working another full-time job.

 

Also, has been mentioned several times on this forum, the key is to make sure you have a mechanical end-of-day trading strategy that you follow. If you do, you simply need to set GTC (good til canceled) orders with your broker for both entries and protective stop prices, then adjust them each night, based on price action of the day.

 

I also suggest making sure you know your preferred time frame for trading (position trading vs. swing trading vs. daytrading). There are pros and cons to each strategy, but it's a crucial starting point to determine which will work best for you. The following article gives an objective comparison of the pros and cons of each strategy:

 

How does swing trading compare to daytrading or longer-term investing?

 

Finally, you may want to check out this swing trading newsletter that gives detailed technical stock and ETF trade setups, but is actually designed for people who have full-time jobs and cannot watch the markets, rather than daytraders.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Deron

 

  JEHs said:

A great book with a cheesy title that would make you never consider buying it:

How I Made $2, 000, 000 in the Stock Market: Nicolas Darvas: 9781614271697: Amazon.com: Books

 

A chart is a chart. I position trade off weekly and daily charts. Mostly ETFs. You can not make a living this way unless you have a ton of money, but it is a good way to manage a small investment account and get the hang of getting to know price action and watching the charts. An hour or less in the evenings would be enough.

I enter using a stop order if markets break through a certain price. Usually I like to be there at the open though to make sure market is not making a crazy gap or something.

 

I also trade off daily and hourly charts. This requires looking in a few times a day and you have to realize that you will just miss some here and there because you aren't in the right place and time, but it still helps to learn the price action. That is the main thing.

 

I don't know anything about mechanical trading...

 

The main thing, if you are just starting, is top spend a lot of time just watching charts. Forget about trading.

[Colonel B 10]

  Tams said:

depending on what you mean by "trading"?

 

do you mean intraday trading of futures?

 

NO WAY

 

don't kid yourself.

 

95% of the people can't do it staring at the monitor full time, what makes you think you are more superior than them?

 

 

If you like your regular pay check...

don't ruin it.

if you spend even a little bit of your attention trading, you are likely to underperform in your day job, and you will get into trouble with your boss sooner then later.

 

My advice:

 

1. don't even think about trading

 

2. think investment, think buy-and-hold

 

3. spend your spare time with your family and friends

 

4. spend your extra cash (while you have it) on yourself and your love ones. If you do not listen to this, come back one year from now and read this post again. You will wish you had spent your money as I directed, because the market is ruthless, it will take your money, and more.

 

 

enjoy!

I totally agree with the President on this one.

So true Mr President.... So so so true Mr. President. So true it deserves repeating.

 

Some how if you put on a order and walk away that gives you a better chance of winning? If you are trying to do this and work at the same time then you are making more money then a doctor or you don't know what you are doing.

[Vinayak 10]

  Tams said:

you can have a beach side massage while you trade LOL

 

This is such an awesome thread, I must say. Many thanks to tams and Obsidian for your wonderful insights. I am a sell side analysts who does a lot of trading on the side on my personal accounts of course.

I am actually hoping to do more trading and may be even become a full time trader (I am talking like 6 years from now). Its great to hear what expert traders have to say on what is a very tough decision.

The reason why I feel full time trading which is what hedge funds do really is good is because it allows you to cover the stocks you wish to and you have more time on your hands now to really cover the market and do some keen analysis. Nothing beats that.

[Ammeo 10]

Making more money than a well paid job like that of a Doctor or an MBA should be the theme of full time trading ..If u cant do that then you are left behind in the race.

But if you are doing a not so well paid job like a babysitter,nurse or a mechanic and make more than twice the amount from trading than what you make from a low paid job then you are on the right track...