Exploring the Possibilities of Trading as Your Career

I have been a full-time trader since 2016. Before that, I worked in IT for 10+ years.

I was in a good role when working in IT and didn't have any issues. Full-time trading is my choice.

Before sharing my suggestions, I want to share a story of a person who ignored these suggestions, how he faced a tough time, and how he bounced back to overcome the problematic situation.

I give five checklist items whenever a person asks me about full-time trading because only these checklist items can help a person progress towards successful trading.

They are:

No Debt or loan

Savings to run the family for 2 years with the same luxury

Consecutive 6 months profit in trading

Sufficient trading capital

A passive income source

I suggest people not to quit their day job until they satisfy the above criteria.

One of my friends approached with the same query a few years back. He was passionate about trading, and I suggested the same criteria.

But he was eager to check his luck and quit his well-paid IT job before fulfilling the above criteria.

Initially, he made some money, but after a few months, the market didn't provide many opportunities, and he was tensed to generate his trades.

So he took some unnecessary trades breaking his system rules, and lost around 50% of his trading capital.

One day he met me and shared his struggles. I advised him to get into a similar IT job first, aim to complete the above checklist items, and then return to full-time trading.

This time he followed my advice. He joined an IT job with less salary compared to his previous job.

But he was damn determined on trading and worked 1-1.5 years to satisfy all the checklist items.

The day before he submitted his resignation, he called me and thanked me for my advice.

Till today he is into full-time trading and living a happy life.

So my suggestion is quitting your day job is not necessary to make a career in trading.

You can easily set up an algo system to take the daily trades. Otherwise, you can take the help of semi-algo systems (like Squareoff, Zerodha Streak) to manage your trades.

If you are still keen to try full-time trading, then I suggest the same checklist items.

1) No Debt or Loan

It's essential to have a cushion in case of unexpected hardships. Make sure you have no debt or loans outstanding.

Because if you have an EMI, it brings some unnecessary pressure to your mind to generate profits every month.

But we don't get opportunities in the market every month. So it is better to carry a free mind without any EMI.

2) Savings to run the family for 2 years

Please remember trading should be treated as a business and that success takes time and hard work.

Hence you should have enough savings to cover your expenses for at least 2 years. It will help reduce the stress of potentially having to find another job in case trading doesn't work out.

Your family should not suffer because of your crazy ideas!

3) Consecutive 6 months of profit in trading

Trading in the market is always a roller-coaster ride. So one month's success cannot define a person.

Hence we should make profits at least for 6 consecutive months before we jump into full-time trading.

4) Trading Capital

It would help if you had enough trading capital to sustain yourself. This means having enough money to live on for at least a year without needing to withdraw from your trading account.

For example, if you generate a 5% profit every month and your monthly expense is Rs. 25,000, you should have Rs. 5,00,000 (5 Lakh) as your trading capital.

5) A Passive Income Source

It is imperative to have at least one passive income source. This could be from a side business, rental property, or some other source of income that isn't directly related to trading. Having this will help you weather any downtimes in the markets and keep you afloat financially.

I hope this information is helpful!

Image Link : Itay Verchik