If you consider trading as your job, you need to be prepared for a lot of challenges. Many traders cannot deal with the psychological pressure and set themselves up for failure from the beginning. As with any freelance or entrepreneurship, the key to successful trading is your self-awareness. Not every person is prepared to work independently for himself.
Let’s start with the reasons why it can seem difficult to be a full-time trader.
- Independence. While for some people it's a clear advantage, for others it's an eternal struggle. You need to have a plan, a structure of your work and confidence. The hardest part is to overcome procrastination. When no one controls you, it is easy to avoid doing anything necessary and switch to wasting time.
- Responsibility. Being a trader requires your full responsibility for everything that happens. You need to take control over your mind and your actions.
- Time-management. Every freelance or entrepreneur job requires you to find a perfect balance between work and free time. Trading is not an exeption. However, it requires even more time as you need to study and research a lot. Once you opened a position, you will carry your work with you for the whole day, week or even month.
- Your revenue depends only on yourself. You can relax for some time at a regular job as you know that at the end of the month you will receive a certain amount of money. But when trading is your full-time job you need to be concentrated and always be up-to-date.
- Limit of social contacts. This is true, trading is a lonely business unless you're working for a company or have some "trading-mates".
- You don't make an impact on others. If you work for yourself all day long it does not affect anyone or anything except your pocket.
- Effect of one successful trade. Sometimes one good deal makes you blind and affects your behavior. You always should consider a possibility of a loss.
The list might seem quite depressing, although it doesn't mean you need to stop trading. If full-time trading is tough for you, for now, you can improve your life using other options.
- Part-time trader. You can combine your favorite job with trading as a side source of income. It will bring you a win-win situation: you won't be afraid to be fired as a worker, while you won't be deeply affected as a trader.
- Trader and business owner. Trading can also be a good combination for business owners. Of course, you may face uncertainties at the beginning. But if you manage to diversify your income by generating two streams, your overall approach will be improved. Having trading as your side project will help you to rebalance priorities.
- Trader and passion project. As an option, you can earn money with your hobby and combine it with trading. Trading may become your passion project as well. Imagine how cool it’s to have 2 passions!
Having trading as your side activity will help you to be satisfied and more concentrated.
As you can see, whether you choose to be a full-time or a part-time trader, both options have their advantages and disadvantages. You can choose what is more suitable for you and start trading any time you want.
