Hi Zack. I've been actively trading for 2 years. Trading is a difficult field and the failure rate is supposedly over 85%. I think there are many ways to get into the business.
I took the proprietary trading route. Some firms let you use their capital and they cover your losses. You can gain valuable experience and training and not lose any of your money. Of course there will be a catch. They will have a cut in your profits, like a 50/50 split 40/60 and so on. Some firms will require you to put up some capital usually around $5000, but you get better commission rates and a higher cut of profits. I have been in both types of firms. I gained a couple of months experience without losing any of my own money, but I also did not make any money. I have too deal with pressures from my parents and my wife frequently. They all want me to find a new steady job that pays. There are times when I got depress from losing every day. Then circumstances changed, which forced me to join another firm which requires capital. They had better training there and with my prior knowledge something just clicked and I started making money. I heard the same stories from many other traders who were profitable. They all said after losing money for 6-9 months something just clicks, you can call it an ¡§aha¡¨ experience, and they started becoming profitable. I¡¦m not making big money, just enough to get by. I¡¦m probably earning a base salary of what most college grads earn. But in the long run I will come up ahead if I improve my trading. If you want to learn more you can go check out
www.elitetrader.com It¡¦s a trader message forum.
