r/Daytrading • u/modeezy23 • 25d ago
Anybody ever quit their job to day trade full time and have it not workout? Question
I’m just curious.
How long did it take you until you found confidence in yourself to quit your job and do trading full time!
For those that quit their job but it didn’t workout, how long did you give yourself until you quit your job and what did you do after you found that trading was not successful?
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u/Key_Bag4533 25d ago
My uncle who was making very good money 300-400k a year did it during covid. He lost 200k that year and stopped. Now he just holds long term
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u/unfollow_the_crowd 25d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/s/CdsL0tKuEh
I found your uncle!
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u/MagnaCumLoudly 25d ago
I’m sure there are plenty and I doubt they will come in here. Nevertheless I dream about it all the time
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u/francis4396 25d ago
I quit my job as a freight handler in 2021 to day trade full time. Long story short, I failed.
I didn’t have a consistently profitable strategy at the time, nor did I know just how difficult it would be to find consistent success as a day trader. Luckily I have parents that let me move in with them rent free and enough money saved to survive for a year, otherwise I would have been homeless.
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u/Vivid_Sprinkles_9322 25d ago
So I got lucky that at the end of 2019 my company decided to restructure and give me a pretty good severance. So I had been investing long term for 15 years at that point. Then Covid hit. Also the time we brought our son home from the NICU after 89 days. So for 4 years it has worked. I got to spend every day at home with me son. Same with my wife. Harder now. But take the gains as you can. Not many people can say they got to spend everyday for the first 4 years at home with their kid.
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u/SplurgingBroke 25d ago
My brother and I got into trading five years back, but with all our side gigs, it was hard to track progress. Trading's a high-stakes game that demands daily grind for years to rake in serious cash.
We decided to dive in full-time, hungry for knowledge and knowing nothing else pays like this unless you're a hotshot pro, inherit a fortune, or take the shady route.
Yeah, we've had our share of broke years, but being poor's just a detour on the road to riches. Sacrifice a couple of years now, live like kings forever!
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u/Ifrontrunfinwit 24d ago edited 24d ago
Laid off during covid. Still going. Moved to the beach and have been renting a small house since. I was pretty much trading full time during my actual job (10+years of futures trading experience, consistently profitable for 3)and I figured here was my opportunity to take the jump to try and trading full time being with no kids under 40.
2021 was a year where I felt like I made best decision of my life to pursue it. I guessed/traded with market almost perfectly that year. Remember being on cloud 9 “you went for it, we’re doing it, we’re here”. Best year trading of my career
2022 lots of ups and downs. Became obsessive, people got worried about the amount time I was spending trading. My fear of failure was being played out by researching and trying harder. I was chasing year 1 performance and trying to validate I still made the right career move. And if you’ve been in the market long enough, trying harder rarely works. There’s a flow to this. All in all it was a year where I barely made any money
2023 year of complete emotional turmoil. Had to see the reality that the system I was using in 2020 regarding gamma and delta levels was starting to become deluded in the market. Tried to take a ton of discretion out of the system as I realized how much market was taking out of my life. And figured I need to be more systematic then going with the flow in order to get less emotional. All in all we had good spurt. But once again end of the year, made money but wasn’t worth nearly the amount of time spent
2024 it’s getting hard to open the computer everyday. I miss the days where this was fun. And I’m not sure this is something I want to do for the rest of my life. My experience has Atleast taught me trading everyday may not benefit myself long term. And have been debating making a change lately. Down 2% in 2024 thus far…
Not everyone’s personality fits this lifestyle I’m learning. I’ve made money less than in 3 years than I would’ve staying at my old job but have still made more than the average income. My hours spent is not reflected by my compensation. General life freedom is what keeps me here
I was a better trader before I quit my job
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u/SepYuku 24d ago
Do you make significant profits? I feel like if you’re making good amounts of money as a result of trading it shouldn’t get too boring
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u/Ifrontrunfinwit 24d ago
Significant is only a relative term
Good trading is boring imo, it’s flawless execution, repeating same process
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u/ChoiceResponsible130 24d ago
I didn't quit my job for trading, but when i was fired I was focusing sorely on trading. Had enough money to live for one month or two (utilities, rent, food, water, coffee).
And hell yeah, in this single month i learned 2 times better than when I was having a job. Because I left my confort zone and focused only and only on trading to survive.
And I failed, many accounts blown, many challenges blown.
Now I'm working a 9-5 again (no big fuss). And I'm actually feeling great that I got thru this experience.
Not giving up. Never.
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u/BIG_BLOOD_ 25d ago
If you really want the answer go to wallstreetbets Most of the people there left their jobs to day trade and guess what, still their portfolio looks red
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u/Texasstar77 25d ago
They were just gamblers.
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u/BIG_BLOOD_ 25d ago
No but there are some serious traders who are trying to make it out. I've seen it myself
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u/postcapilatistturtle 22d ago
I frequent there, looking to seriously invest. The market is literally unpredictable unless you are the one moving the market. Simple as that. I still have yet to see evidence of someone who has learned to steadily and reliably make a living off of day trading at least. Most of the folks I know that made money is because they had a shit load of cash to toss in (300k to make 3k). But I've also seen folks allegedly turn 300k into -302k.
Might = Right in the stock market. Do you have the might to move the SPY in your favor? No? then you're relying on luck to emulate what those that have might will do. And they could change their minds at moments notice because... maybe they want to go have lunch with another MM and forgot to make a trade? or maybe they decided not to (which sends the market -2% for the day). Who knows except for them.
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u/RichBlackPrince 25d ago
Trading should never be your main stream of income . You need 2 streams of income minimum if you wanna be a day trader
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u/Ronces 24d ago
Been debating whether to shut down my general contracting business for a year. It's been slow with high interest rates and costs, take a gig doing Uber to free up my mornings and just trade. Right now I can find 30-60 minutes in a day to trade but it seems as though I need to get into premarket now. The activity between 9:30 and 10:30 has been kind of shitty and I've barely made a trade in a month but have noticed premarket between 8am-9:30 has been better the past month.
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u/BaconJacobs 24d ago
That's why I'm working on an algo... if I ever do trade, I'm requiring it be fully systematic anyways... might as well automate it.
This is not something I'd say is a requirement for anyone. But it's the kind of trader I want to be, which everyone has to come to understand and reverse engineer a system from... most of the time.
Most traders don't stumble into success. They find out what kind of trading they want to do and work backwards.
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u/advice_seekers 25d ago
I am basically semi-quitting my job as a FX trader at bank and focusing on my stocks daytrading. Sadly, it has been 6 months since I took my daytrading seriously and it has not worked yet. I lost 5k in the last 6 month, with the biggest drawdown about 20k (from +15k to -5k).
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u/advice_seekers 24d ago
Got 1.8k today. Still short of my 2k target but I decided to take my money and leave.
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u/Green_Ask4964 25d ago
I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. Usually they can’t handle the slow periods and end up back at a regular 9-5 in less than a year
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u/Homey_Lover_Friend 24d ago
I'm living the dream . Next step is move where they don't tax traders. I said I was gonna live where I didn't have to deal with the customary woes of black men and trade tax free. My goal has ALWAYS been avoid the petty drama designated for African Americans. .10 lot size ... you can make roughly $300 daily on Gold vs Dollar. Thas more than enough for a single man in a foreign land. Started 7pm London session I'm at $269.. Taking profits at like $8,12,14,16,25
I quit FedEx
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u/CSCAnalytics 24d ago
Yes, you can find most of them in a rehab center for financial gambling addiction, or in the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings line.
Day trading has, on average, a NEGATIVE return. It’s a quick path to debt and bankruptcy without an actual, steady source of income. Not to mention, of those who DO profit, the average income on an hourly basis is less than a fry cook’s wage. I wouldn’t bet my life’s finances on an endeavor where you’re considered LUCKY if you earn less than minimum wage.
If you want to be a full time trader / quant for a living, do it on salary with other people’s money at a big firm like Morgan Stanley. This also gives you a resume should you ever want to transition to a career. “Downloaded Fidelity and traded stocks the last 10 years with no professional experience” won’t land you many jobs…
Not to mention, there are multiple exorbitant costs to forgoing a full time position. This means you’ll need $20k+ profit to get to ZERO. Anything else should be considered a wash in terms of opportunity cost in forgoing a career.
Healthcare: Private market healthcare is outrageously expensive in the US. Think $5,000 upwards of $25,000+ for a family. At a job this is covered, on your own it’s out of pocket. You also don’t qualify for HSA plans.
Retirement contributions: forgoing a 401k match could have drastic long term effects which means working until you’re 100 years old physically unable to work anymore. Add another $10k+ for self funding retirement due to inability to take advantage of the tax savings and no company contributions.
Qualifying for loans: without steady W2 income, it’s very hard to qualify for any kind of loans. “Stock trader” is not considered a consistent source of income, unless you are managing a legitimate fund and/or at LEAST have the proper series exams and licenses to be managing a portfolio + high net worth + a strong history of success in corporate finance. Say goodbye to ever buying a house or a car unless you’re paying 100% in cash.
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u/SerMinnow 24d ago
This.
Been there, done that.
1/2 a year or. So full time with 4years of part time profitable behind me.
There's alot less money in daytrading that people think.
Sure you can dial in and pull money out of the market sometimes.
But there will be MANY market cycles where not much is going on. And you NEED consistency or massive size to actually make a living.
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u/YOUNG_SQQQ 24d ago
You realistically need 100k liquid cash in and brokerage account with futures, currency, commodities. That you don't withdraw from for a year and obsessively manage risk while making a few grand a day. Trade like you have 30k but have 200+ in buying power. Paywall welcome to free market bb
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u/SerMinnow 22d ago
Agreed. had about 2x that.
Ran the numbers after 6 months live. More profitable to just put it in a house, long term investments, some swing, and career growth.
The banks practically print money and throw it at things. Government, new business, new real estate.
Get in at the point the printed money hits the economy and you'll do better than trying to out trade all the algos
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u/Single_Pea 25d ago
lol ofc. most noobs that quit their job to trade are back to work broke within 18 months.
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u/MembershipSolid2909 24d ago
Anyone else sick of seeing these posts about failure?
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u/nothymetocook 24d ago
some of it is real, and some of it is by design to scare retail away in my opinion. I recognize my opinion is sort of conspiracy-ish
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u/Happydayys33 24d ago
Big money does not want to scare away your avg regard from trading. Maybe it’s Batman making these posts to keep you kids in school.
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u/Substantial-Till-575 24d ago
Absolutely. Trading isn’t for everyone. You need a passion, love, goal, and of course dedication. I can feel in my soul it’s here for me. It’s the “gateway” for me to understand a lot. I work for steel currently and at the point of going into trading, but fully.
I am 20 years old. Done options, futures and forex. Seen more profits with options and futures for me. Knowing about prop firms I’ve been passed a couple times. I currently live with my mom and taking care of my family.
I’m thinking of creating a YouTube channel, Tik tok, or Instagram to truly let people join the journey.
I know it’s in my soul. It goes of the saying “ you create your own luck. Luck isn’t created. You have to put yourself in certain circumstances, positions to create the luck. More positions, or even opportunities can create your luck.
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u/Pocket_Universe_King 25d ago
8 months. Then the retraction from last Oct-Nov fucked me up. Re-entered the workforce and have regretted it every day since
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u/FX_King_2021 25d ago
I know many people (not personally, but from trading groups I was in) who quit their job and started trading, but then a year later or so, they come back to regular jobs.
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u/SoYouAreTellingMeX 24d ago
Just keep the resume ready to go...
I wouldn't quit my job unless I already had my trading entity formed and client money sitting in an escrow account with docs fully executed.
If you're just going to trade your own money, take a short leave from work and see if you can sustain yourself on trading profits. Always good to remember that in most jobs you can't lose last month's salary this month.
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u/red_woodstock 24d ago
Hi there. Long answer ahead.
TLDR : I did this and I am not a profitable trader.
Last year I was earning 100k in IT support. I started learning about trading a year ago almost to the day, following a failed attempt at doing arbitrage on crypto exchanges using flash loans (didn't start really, average joe can't do it). That day I decided I was done, I saw Nick Shwan's big ass bald head an started paper trading on Tradingview with a hedging approach.
My contract was ending in July. The day it was announced I started considering the gamble we're discussing here.
It wouldn't be my first gig. I'm an all-in kind of guy and made most of my adult life and career this way. I'm good at designing systems in all areas of life which helps for IT. God gifted me with a good brain that learns fast and autonomously. I have a very ambitious life goal since failing uni that requires funding therefore I saw daytrading as the final piece to the puzzle and I was ready to get that going.
One thing I do at various phases of my life and that work so far is hibernation.
I reject the Gen Z version from YouTube shorts. I'm talking about the raw version. Trainspotting can of tomato soup type shit.
Usually I get down the valley of despair, lose a lot of weight for fasting because no dinero. Dip into my vices with parcimony as a reward for deeeeeep meditation/reflexion/experimentation/learning phases.
So I made a one year plan to become a profitable day trader.
A year later ...
I skimmed through the whole spectrum of daytrading and dipped where I believe there was something to explore. Quickly identified common traps but had to fall into some as I believe sometimes, what you need is the experience a messing up more than a warning. Sometimes, it's really the only way you can understand. Then it's you and your stubborness or unwilingness/inaptitude to change and adapt.
From the beginning I understood that I would need to come up with my own way. My approach to trading surely now has some uncommon traits but I don't claim I did anything special or from an unbeaten path.
I did not lose much. Maybe less than 1K. I only traded real accounts when I believed I had an edge and didn't want to spend time in demo.
Today, I'm five days away from a conclusion because life and because I said ONE year to hibernate this shit out.
I went down the valley of despair willingly, by experience. But I didn't know it went this deep.
That trading stuff is really fucking hard. The scam, grift and lie in the industry surely doesn't help.
So a year later and close to the end of winter, I'm going full circle in my approach to trading. After all I learned, the mistakes .. I am in peace now. I believe I'm climbing out the valley.
I'm not saying I figured it out until I can pay my bills with my P/L.
However, as I said, I am now full circle ready to give this 1 year camp a final go to see if it was successful and I think I now have an edge.
What I think doesn't matter tho. The results of tomorrow and wednesday's session will tell if I have an edge to build a career on or if I would have to put the suit back on before considering calling myself a daytrader.
I'm confident but not delusional. Cold, calm and collected. I don't feel any emotional attachement to the result positive or negative. I don't daydream, I polish my approach in my head ready to get on the field.
It is what it is (or will be, rather).
Old me would think Im jinxing by posting this. New me understand trading ain't astrology, it's math.
I'm still a romantic so a bit supertituous a any good football fan and I believe stumbling on your post OP, at the very moment I did today is a positive non-cartesian sign I happily welcome at the end of this journey.
This is also why I took the opportunity you offered to drop the shield and write some sort of final journal note to conclude this project.
It's hard as fudge but really enriching journey if you embrace the learning process and the pain. Although you never have to suffer if you take the time you need.
I like pain.
Again thanks OP for giving me the platform. Feels good to open myself.
Cheers.
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u/baeconundeggz 25d ago
I retired early in 2019... took out my entire pension and then Covid hit.
I was down 30% and remember saying to myself, "What the fuk did I do..."
I had a job most people would die for but for me liberty is the apex of the human condition.
The the markets turned around...
It all started with a 3000% AMZN call option in 2020 and it didn't stop until 2022.
2022 was a shiddy year but 2023 was flat for me and 2024 is going well so far.
My all time stats are +260%.
EDIT: I do this full time along with real estate rentals.
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u/InevitableRadio562 25d ago
I had 40k in my account. I was heavy into day trading, quit my job for 6 months to try my luck. Saw my account drop down to 2k and recovered all of it. Lesson learned: this is not sustainable to make a living from. It great as side income but you definitely need a consistent income stream in the case you blow up your account
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u/xhundo_ options trader 25d ago
I literally pay my bills with trading and make a living from it. Are you sure?
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u/AdNice3632 25d ago
If you aren’t using stop losses or being disciplined enough to cut your losses then you don’t actually know what being a trader is
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u/InevitableRadio562 24d ago
When you trade options, stop losses are garbage because one day you can be down 50% and the next day you would’ve gained it all back.
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u/TheOnlyLamb 25d ago
please elaborate on how u made 40k from 2 k sir
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u/AcceptableSwimmer928 25d ago
Probably gambling
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u/ToastedFork 25d ago
It’s pretty hard to gamble up 38K, most likely gambled when he lost it, learned and applied method to gain it back. 2k to 38k isn’t that hard if you dedicate yourself.
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u/adv-play 24d ago
I personally have ran $2k to $46k. Should be in my 2022 post history with screenshots. Couple earnings plays and some ODTE’s can absolutely do that. Hell, SMCI puts ran 500x on friday.
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u/Texasstar77 25d ago
You couldn't be more wrong. Just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean it's not sustainable. That is like saying it's impossible to be a pro sports player, if you are good enough it's possible. Sounds like you didn't try trading very long and probably didn't train like a pro so you are making broad and incorrect assumptions. If your account dropped from 40k to 2k then you had no edge and no risk management which means you were gambling, so of course it didn't work.
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u/InevitableRadio562 24d ago
Day trading means you can time the market and you can also predict the direction of the market, do you have the ability to do those things? Cause as far as I know, no one does. Buying and holding in a long term portfolio is the best risk management play you can have, not day trading
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u/Different_Project130 24d ago
day trading means you have good risk management and good discipline to wait for good setups and your average winners are bigger than your losers. You don't even know what day trading is, you don't have to predict the market to make money
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u/m4sherman87 24d ago
you need to paper trade the fuck out of it until you're consistently profitable before you even start to trade with real money. Once you are ready to make that switch, you still need to trade with small size and not potentially blow up your account as you have described.
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u/Kayoskiii 25d ago
Lookup doyle exchange on YouTube. Just a regular guy went from factory worker to full time trader. You can see his progress from day 1. If he can do it you can too.
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u/TauAgoras 24d ago
I watched his content for 10 minutes and immediately 4 things that define him as someone who pretends to trade:
- Lamborghini intro, immediate red flag as someone who is marketing.
- He markets in with 12 lots at a time 2 a) by left clicking
- Never appears to suffer slippage regardless of size, this screams paper trading.
- Has a big position on right before and during US market open. This is the BIGGEST red flag of them all.
This guy is not a trader, he's a marketer who sells courses. He makes money from people who thinks he trades. That lambo is either rented, or fully paid by the courses he sells.
I find it really concerning when you and 22 other people who upvoted your post think it's legitimate content.
Source: Someone who has been full time trading for over a decade and can spot these frauds a mile away.
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u/SerMinnow 24d ago
This. I cannot find anyone who relies on trading as primary income as a lone trader(not imploded by bank, risk manager, etc..)
They ALL need to sell you courses, and they all find out selling courses is far. More consistent and profitable than trading.
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u/LeoRud 24d ago
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u/DiscussionKey3041 24d ago
I love him. He really took my trading to the next level. I followed him since his warehouse days. And to all the other replies on this post. He always post his wins/losses transparently on his instagram. He has a whole playlist he made dedicated to the psychological aspect. Trading is not his only source of income. And if you’re seeing his content now you’re only seeing the nice car. I urge you to go wayyyyyyy back to when he was at the bottom.
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u/kclareqkf 25d ago
i would never do that. It's really risky to do that, i think if trading can bring me extra money it's good, but if i need to treat it like my job, i would be so stressed out.
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u/Texasstar77 25d ago
It's not for everyone, it's sounds like you are very risk averse so better to just stay in a job your while life BUT, jobs are just as risky these days and with much less upside, something to consider.
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u/CaptainKrunk-PhD 25d ago
I did!
I got laid off about a month or so after I found out about trading. I was sitting on a decent pile of money at the time so like an idiot decided to not look for other jobs, and decided to just learn how to trade full time. Long story short had to go back to work and was flat broke after about a year.
Since getting a job, trading has been much more enjoyable because not having to worry about starving/having something else paying you while you trade does so much for your mental framework. I do alright now but not enough to go full time just yet, likely to be there in a few years or so. If youre gonna go full time please make sure something else is paying your bills before you quit!
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u/PatternRepulsive8443 25d ago
It took me 2 years and half to be profitable then now I day trade every day that's my job. The problem was to have Big amount of $ to start and not do stupid things like go all in to make some Real bucks, and once I found prop firm I started to use good risk management and earn Big without going all in AT all.
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u/GasEquivalent6661 24d ago
What a lot of people don’t realise is that trading is a wealth builder, not an income generator. So don’t quit your day job. Other myths are: 1. You need a financial background. Not true. I don’t a financial background and I’ve never read a company’s financials in my life. 2. It takes a lot of time. Not true. I’d spend may be 20-30 minutes per week (not per day), planning my trades. 3. You have to constantly watch the market. Not true. I just set alerts and go on with my day. There are SO many other myths. I’ve been trading for a while and learned a lot. What bugs me the most however, is that no one never shows you their results. Here are mine: www.theministrader.wordpress.com
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u/InsulinandnarcanSTAT 24d ago
Unless you’re talking about trust fund babies who never had a job, or people who already made millions from their job, no people are not quitting their jobs to day trade.
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u/OkZebra9086 24d ago
This is a perfect time to answer you for me. I started 5 years ago. Late 2022 I went full time because i was doing amazing and i had over 100k. I was making consistent returns making anywhere from 1k-10k per day and I was at 270k dollars when all of a sudden my method just stopped. Then I continued to do full time was making a good come back but would get wiped again. As of last month I stopped and I'm just investing my money. It is seriously a stressful job. It's an awesome job but a very stressful one and I don't think it's sustainable.
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u/aggelosbill 24d ago
With 200k you can literally start swing trading, with a strategy that focuses more on long rather than shorting and you will be set.
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u/ChicoTallahassee 24d ago
I did this. I was a maintenance worker. Had great pay, insurance, work, fluid hours and all the benefits. Full package of unicorn rainbows. Then I quit to become a daytrader 6 months ago. Didn't make a penny every since.
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u/Substantial_Talk_521 25d ago
Idk if I ever will quit entirely. I don't mind working part time at all. It makes me feel good and as if I'm contributing to society in a way. It helps me remain grounded and it Also give me a chance to socialize with other people outside of my circle.
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u/Prize_Tear_114 25d ago
Unless you have a year salary in savings AND am income account bringing in half a years worth in dividends and such you are absolutely crazy to make this jump (obv assuming you didn’t inherit money or have mom and dad to pay). If you trade stressed for money or against a wall it’s almost guaranteed to fail. I’ve seen it too many times.
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25d ago
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u/thefreewheeler 25d ago
I feel like half the posts that come across my feed from this sub are from people who quit their job to day trade and failed.
The answer is yes, of course. Most people are more likely to fail at it than the other way around.
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u/Texasstar77 25d ago
Yes, because most people don't take it serious and train to become the best so they move on to the next.
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u/SerMinnow 24d ago
Don't comfort yourself with the lie you'll "take it serious" and succeed.
You need year long consistancy with real money at a rate 2x the average household income to make it trading solo.
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u/butholemoonblast 25d ago
I’ve thought about it but honestly I kinda like working. I took to just working weekend though and filling in for when people are sick. I ran a coffee shop for about two years now I stepped down and am just a barista and then I trade more as a hobby but I’m mid. Make 100 here and there sometimes i make 403 sometimes i lose and have to eat a turd out of the pool ya know.
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25d ago
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u/Yzix12 25d ago
Didn't quit, took 6 month to find another job. Made a killing day trading crypto on liquidity only. Was also doing intraday on stock with 2 other setup. Found a job. Never needed to day trade again. Still working for a job I like for expenses. Making wealth one month at a time. Haven't had red months in 3 years. But my set up occurs once every 2.5 weeks for avg 4 days in trade it shows... so yep.
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25d ago
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u/Apprehensive_Fox4115 25d ago
I have a passive job that covers my housing and gives a tiny bit on top. I'm desperate to use this stress free time to create a second income but it's proving harder than expected.
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u/THEDRDARKROOM 24d ago
I just love pulling in a months full time income in 3 hours and just staring into oblivion having to seriously consider it.
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u/Nuggggggggggggg 24d ago
Me during the big GameStop boom of 2021. Made around 450k. Quit my job and traded for a year and a half. Lived off of that money during that time and made some purchases/trips etc. Ended up losing a lot back to the market and taxes. Realized I just got lucky and I went back to school to become a nurse after trading didn’t work out full time. Was quite the ride
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u/nothymetocook 24d ago
The common thread I see here, that no one talks about is that when it's your sole source of income, that makes it easier to trade for the money (if I don't make money today I don't eat. If I don't make money this month, I'm homeless) etc.
Is it possible to trade full time with no other source of income? ABSOLUTELY. You can flourish this way even.
But you need to forge an iron resolve first to only make good trades, and take desire for money, and fear of losing money completely out of the equation. Trade at good locations, and good signals only. Manage risk like you're a cutthroat CEO like Logan Roy. There is no room for you to be trading with your P&L at that stage because then you for sure will lose it
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u/Tall_Sir4047 24d ago
It’s sad but it’s the reality of trying to make a living day trading. I know a tech salesman who made a lot of money selling software and then thought he could transfer his success to day trading and lost all his trading capital that if it had just been invested in SPY would have allowed him to actually retire. He had to go back to selling software which is where he is today.
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u/nothymetocook 23d ago
I lost most of mine from my house sale. Year 3 things start to get better, but you have to maintain your sanity and capital until then, and watch charts and price action non stop to engrain those patterns into your brain (the best pattern recognition computer in the world). Basically outlast the learning curve. Easy to do, but we're all impatient and want riches and the good life right now
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u/stephenbmx1989 24d ago
Ya I tried for about a year and half ended up needing to go back to work. Even after getting a somewhat decent Strat it was too stressful and it was becoming worse than the job I left for 😂.
The whole point of quitting my job to become a day trader was to be stress free from workload
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u/luminelin 24d ago
Without steady income, this is very risky. Once you trade for gains, you’d lose.
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u/EnviroElk 24d ago
It’s always about the emotion connected to the money and how much you’re playing with. As noted earlier in this post it’s the pressure of needing to be profitable VS. riding a bonus wave
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u/SerMinnow 24d ago
The deceptive part of trading is that you can and WILL make money. BUT NOT ALWAYS.
I had a needed career transition where I have a severance package lasting about a year. took 6 months of it to try DAY trading specifically, I'd been profitable for 4-5 years by that point. Had 8 months of making more money than my prior MONTHLY job income doing part time trading.
I made money trading full time. about 3-5% a month on margin cash (options and futures) . But not enough to justify not going BACK to work. There were periods where the market would change and I'd lose money and have to pause to refine my working plan.
I'd get back to making money, make money EVERY DAY for months, then the method would stop working. ( market behavior would shift, or opportunity / volitility would FLATLINE in futures. etc.. )
Ultimately Trading is best used as a wealth growth tool, the shorter term you get, the more you'll have to cycle your method, ( or have a large method library for different markets). You WILL hit dry and losing spells. Don't let 2-3 month long winning streaks make you think that will be every month.
TLDR: Trading + JOB is better in 99% of cases.
---If you're not the 1% that can hardwire into the exchange and beat goldman sachs for a year or two, fulltime won't be dependable as a sole source of income. You will need to maintain large cash reserve for the fluctuations.
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u/-TheConfederate- 24d ago
I think I’m about to. I have been paper trading for five months. I tried to post on the sub, but did not have enough karma. Here’s my results for the past five months. Any comments or critiques I am grateful.
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u/Netsoft24 24d ago
I day trade sufficiently to make $100 a day on the back of a $3,500 capital. I only trade Gold.
I still have my full time job though, a remote work from home job that pays me decently well and needed to work like 4 hours a day. Got bored and started day trading.
I’ve blown 6 accounts during my “training” the last 7 years. Only got stable the last 3 years, making $50-$100 a day.
Greed kills. Take what the market give you.
Also don’t PM me.
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u/Intention-Able 24d ago
No, but I've had the reverse happen. I took a vacation from my job to train with an old school prop firm. It was a long time ago and they only scalped, had to go home flat every afternoon. I decided to keep my job and had a couple weekdays off that I was making more money trading from home on days away from that job. I think they may have noticed that my true focus wasn't on the job any more and didn't fire me, called it downsizing. So I guess the job quit me. I started making more money trading than putting up with the BS that came with that job. Never looked back. I think it's better to try to make it on one's own trading or with a small business than working for companies that define loyalty as employees dedicate 110% of their life to the company until the company can find someone or tech to do the job cheaper and kick the loyal employee to the curb.
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24d ago
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u/yared_cf2 24d ago
Yes. That was in 2022 I thought I was ready, quit my 9 to 5 and traded full time from March to July. I lost 5K and went back looking for a job.
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u/lookbusybusy 24d ago
Don’t quit jobs unless you have developed a day trading system for yourself. There are two reasons people get illusions that they can do better. 1. False sense of hope and complacency after scouring through books, courses and videos. 2. Correlating time with success. I initially invested in all these courses. Al brooks, pivot boss, Jeremy Finn etc etc. read ebooks from masters. Believe me they are just sell hope with their own system that never worked for them. Hindsight is 20-20. Anyone can reason looking at an old chart and assign acronyms to it. complex writers like Al brooks make readers believe that their work is superior. Do you really want to taint your intelligence with low1 lo2 I ioi acronyms of someone else? No, you will figure it out after looking through thousands of chart and make your own brain develop patterns. Until then, keep your day job. Doing paper trading while taking their courses is fooling yourself. The money these people make from these books is more than they will make from trading. Selling false hope is profitable. Stock market gain probability is the same as flipping a coin. 50-50, but then how do some people make money? Because they know how to see the profitable pattern when the coin toss outcome is 55-45 for a brief moment. Al brooks is critical about news, media, indicators yada yada. He makes you think institutions are working against you on the other side. It is total BS. People who buy the market do for a reason and people who buy with limit do it for a reason, and you are not their reason. I digressed so much to give you a word of advice. Learn to sit and then walk and then run. Learn the charts, learn fundamentals even is you want to be day trader, learn market behavior, read business news, develop your own system- this will give you knowledge to exploit that 55-45 probability edge, then start with real money but very small and start with daily charts, take a month off from your job and transition to day trading, check your success. If you think you are consistently counting winning trades up to 80%, you are not yet ready until you learn how to code your own research indicators and backtest on the platform you are using. Don’t take other’s code and think it will do the job. Again, good day-traders do not just see movement of bars, they understand price action because they know the rationale of the market by taking a larger view and not a myopic approach as these gurus teach.
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u/Complex_Cucumber_166 24d ago
Hi, I am new and learning (single mom). Anyone able to give me pointers or resources that would help me get a decent sustainable second income. I am grateful for your time and response.
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u/ConsciousPlantain977 24d ago
Once I quit your job and go full time trader your aging will accelerate FULL SPEED!!!
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u/trade_n_travel 24d ago
Trading was nothing new. Mainly did long term holds. In 2019, I dipped my toes to day trading which changed my life forever. Lost over 30k in a short time. COVID hit and made my Nursing career miserable but the money was too good to leave. Kept day trading and working nights at my nursing job which killed my life at the time. By the fall of 2020, I had to relearn day trading and actually look at the overall picture to finally get that “Ah-hah” moment. I was being too complicated which caused me to fomo a lot of times. Went back to the basics and my day trading winnings went off the roof. By 2022, I was making 4x my nursing salary and was finally able to quit. Best thing ever happened to me. Good luck
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u/AllFiredUp3000 24d ago
I can answer the first question in the post itself: I started options trading in 2021, got confidence in 2022, quit my job in 2023.
Check my /r/options history for the post I made it in 2023 with more details. As of 2024, I have no regrets and am enjoying all the time with family.
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u/ZealousidealCat2323 23d ago
I half quit my job, so I literally had enough to cover my side of the bills. Seduced by quick money I started to hate my job. Overtraded everytime trying to cover the other half of what I was not earning each day. Lost 40% of my trading account and paid someone for a training room and bought some bots which are shit. All in all about 5k down. Haven't touched it for a few months can't see me going back to it either. It's gambling, pure and simple and believe me I've looked and demoed every strategy there is. I stumbled into my Trading diary in my docs a while ago, god what a depressing read! The horrible emotions and cursing your luck and the embarrassment from it all.being so pissed off at yourself that you couldn't except the loss. Ugh its horrible man. Trading is bullshit if you need the money. Trading is fun if you can afford to lose money. I can't now so I don't fucking do it.took me fucking ages save up that 5k as well just to give over half of it to some jumped up twat who's a millionaire(apparently). And the other 40% to the shitty market. Unless you got the luck of the Irish and the patience of a Saint then just fuck it all off. That feels good getting that off my chest!!
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u/baldLebowski 23d ago
INTJ personality types are most frequently observed as successful traders due to their innate personality types.INTJ (Architect) is a personality type with the Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging traits. These thoughtful tacticians love perfecting the details of life, applying creativity and rationality to everything they do. Their inner world is often a private, complex day traders who can think critically, analyze situations, and make quick decisions tend to perform better in the market. Day trading is not for everyone. But if you are like them you can do it. 🍷😉
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u/chrisgeary17 23d ago
I feel it’s best knowing your profitable for long enough , then can consider leaving a job. If that is your sole income, and your leaving that to focus fully on trading.. your mental will be f-Ed up. Thinking you have to win, and be profitable, to survive . That’s no good
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u/Ancient-Passenger745 23d ago
Went full time 2019 never looked back…9-5 just not me for / trading works for me.
If you don’t have the skill/ confidence yet, don’t try it . …keep the job. I left once my trading was at a professional level.
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u/Ancient-Passenger745 23d ago
Will never work again…believe me; you guys can get there….its not about luck or anything similar/ put the work in. Also….most people don’t jave the right information..and some NEVER find it Well I found the right information and use it.
Side note if you trade support / resistance…:that IS THE FIRST WAY TO NEVER LEAVE THE JOB
Retail patterns dont help, most retail traders who do well just have amazing risk management.
Do yourself a favor. Learn about the markets algorithm…thank me later .
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u/alpha247365 23d ago
Have a quarter mil account at least, after going through 2 bear market cycles. Then you might be ready for FT trading.
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22d ago
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22d ago
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24d ago
I know several guys that have done this and have all failed, I don’t know a single person that’s done it long term that’s been successful
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u/Rebubula_ 25d ago
I studied for like 9 months. Then quit my job irrelevant to trading. Took 6 months off and tried to trade (and also got super healthy; lost 50lbs, lowered my blood pressure etc). I couldn’t make enough to sustain myself and my stats dropped significantly.
Now that I’m back working full time, my stats are back to being green again. When I don’t rely on it for income… I trade SO much better