{"id":90137,"date":"2016-05-29T07:20:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-29T11:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=90137"},"modified":"2016-05-23T07:21:13","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T11:21:13","slug":"6-tips-on-how-to-trade-forex-and-keep-your-day-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2016\/05\/6-tips-on-how-to-trade-forex-and-keep-your-day-job\/","title":{"rendered":"6 tips on how to trade Forex and keep your day job"},"content":{"rendered":"
May 29, 2016<\/div>
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By Admiral Markets<\/b><\/p>\n

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Dear Traders,<\/p>\n

I often get asked about giving up your day job for trading.<\/p>\n

I know that It has been a dream for many traders, and there is really scarce information about the consequences of full-time trading.<\/p>\n

Trading Forex full-time is hard, and trading Forex with a day job is still possible.<\/p>\n

I will explain how.<\/p>

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Usually, about once a month, I get an email from an aspiring trader.<\/p>\n

He is convinced that he will be able to trade for a living within two or three months.<\/p>\n

These wannabe traders typically have an elaborate plan detailing:<\/p>\n

1.how many pips they will earn per month<\/p>\n

2.how much money they will make; and<\/p>\n

3.how soon they will be trading for a living.<\/p>\n

For a moment they ignore the fact that they have no experience trading actual money.<\/p>\n

The problem with these traders is that they typically have less than 3,000 USD in trading capital.<\/p>\n

They all have an idea of what they need to earn in order to trade for a living\u2026<\/p>\n

…and have done the math based on pips\u2026<\/p>\n

…to determine how long it will take them to get there.<\/p>\n

The problem is that market gains<\/a> are never linear.<\/p>\n

These traders are making the assumption that they will be able to return nearly 100% on teir money month after month, with only couple months of experience.<\/p>\n

The likelihood of that happening is equal to zero.<\/p>\n

I will discuss six major considerations to make before deciding to trade Forex while keeping your day job.<\/p>\n

The workplace culture and your co-workers<\/h2>\n

There are certain day-to-day experiences in the workplace that may take your attention away…<\/p>\n

\u2026like conversations with workmates, meetings\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and the internally imposed deadlines that will keep you very busy during your day job.<\/p>\n

The majority of good and successful traders made their initial success with trading in other careers.<\/p>\n

The greater the heights you’ve achieved in another career, the more humble a trading job may feel when you try your chances as a trader.<\/p>\n

Think about your present circumstances.<\/p>\n

Are there aspects of your current job that allow for a part-time trading?<\/p>\n

How will your colleagues react if you are focused too much on trading?<\/p>\n

What will your boss tell you if he sees you working on something that is unrelated to your current day job?<\/p>\n

You could easily become focused on the negative aspects of a job, so try and take a balanced approach.<\/p>\n

Think about how will you set up your workplace so that you can make part-time trading successful.<\/p>\n

Plan this socially-based transition to ensure you are:<\/p>\n

…fulfilled in your new circumstances\u2026<\/p>\n

…and happy to accept them.<\/p>\n

Time management<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

While full-time traders have the benefit of devoting a complete work day to their ideas, the part-time trader is rarely just focused on the market.<\/p>\n

Because of this, time management is of the essence:<\/p>\n

\u2026part-time trading essentially equates to having a second job\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026however, it doesn’t have the same time commitment as the primary job.<\/p>\n

While everyone requires some downtime, the part-time trader should utilise a portion of that recreational time to search, develop, and execute their trading ideas.<\/p>\n

Devoting just an hour or two a day to exploring new trading strategies, or simply scanning the markets for a new trading opportunities should uncover new ideas on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Cash flow diversification<\/h2>\n

Diversifying your cash flow, such as having the main source of income from a day job, makes it easier to let risk play out for a superior return.<\/p>\n

Watch out for an equity curve:<\/p>\n

\u2026the more variable your equity curve\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026the greater the stress\u2026<\/p>\n

There’s often whipsaws, skydives, V reversals, and a number of irregularities that may make your trading very stressful if you don’t have a cash flow diversification.<\/p>\n

Part-time trading should be your additional source of income, not the main one.<\/p>\n

Be patient<\/h2>\n

I have always been saying that patience<\/a> is a virtue. It helps you control selfishness, greed, and impulsive behaviours which can destroy your account very quickly.<\/p>\n

For part-time trading, you need to be very disciplined.<\/p>\n

Since you want to keep your day job and work on Forex trading, you should focus on part-time strategies.<\/p>\n

Don’t even think to revenge<\/a> your trade because:<\/p>\n

…the chances of you losing focus on your day job is very likely\u2026<\/p>\n

…and consequences could be huge.<\/p>\n

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.<\/p>\n

Set and Forget strategy<\/h2>\n

Traders who trade part-time should use modified Set and Forget strategies with focus on intraweek timeframe (H4 – Daily).<\/p>\n

Why do I say modified?<\/p>\n

Because you should be paying attention at least twice a day to gauge the price action.<\/p>\n

Maybe you will need to protect your trade or to secure the profits?<\/p>\n

Simply using a pure, robot-like Set and Forget might make your losses even greater:<\/p>\n

…as the markets are very volatile now\u2026<\/p>\n

…even for higher time frame trading.<\/p>\n

Below is a short video on a simple Set and Forget strategy you could use during your part-time job.<\/p>\n