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Ever dreamt of giving up the daily grind? Want
to strike out on your own and work from home,
but don't know what you could possibly do to make
a living? Full time Nasdaq trader Harvey Walsh
wondered just that, and now he asks "Is day
trading the ultimate work from home job"?
We've probably all had the same thought at some
time or another, as we trudge off towards another
day at work - the same work we've been doing day
in day out for years - "surely there has
to be a better way?" Slaving away to make
somebody else rich just doesn't seem right somehow,
but what alternative? Setting up a new business,
or buying an established one, are both expensive
and risky prospects. So how can the disenchanted
employee ever hope to make the switch from wage-slave
to total independence?
Those are thoughts I had almost every day, before
I quit the safety of full time employment and
decided to strike out on my own. I asked myself
the same question day in and day out; surely there
has to be a better way. What about the internet,
I wondered, isn't that supposed to be bringing
new and exciting opportunities to all? I researched
a lot of so-called work-from-home opportunities
that promised untold riches, apparently mine for
the taking just by sitting in front of my PC.
Needless to say, in reality those schemes turned
out to be about as fulfilling as, well, filling
envelopes for a living. No, I knew there had to
be another way - something real - something where
I could be in control of my own destiny.
And then one morning on the train to work, I read
about a couple of Wall Street boys who had struck
it rich thanks to some huge bonuses, and were
now going it alone setting up their own day trading
shop. That was when I discovered day trading,
and I realised that this was exactly the opportunity
I had been searching for. I decided there and
then that I was going to make a full time living
from the stock markets, whatever it took to succeed.
The advantages of day trading as a job are numerous
to say the least; there is no boss to answer to,
no customers to satisfy, no suppliers to let you
down, no waiting for invoices to be paid, I could
go on. In fact, I will: trading is a location-independent
activity - I can work from anywhere with an internet
connection, which effectively means anywhere in
the world with a telephone line. I regularly trade
from my laptop whilst travelling. I can trade
when I feel like it, and take time off when I
like, which means I can spend quality time with
my family.
Now let's get this straight, trading can be a
risky activity, there is no doubt about that.
So is driving a car to work, but the risks of
getting from A to B on four wheels are well understood
and are managed accordingly, to the point where
we don't think twice about getting behind the
wheel. And in the same way, provided a trader
is disciplined in their approach to the job at
hand, and understands the associated risks of
the work, so those risks can be managed.
On the subject of risk, day trading is almost
unique in that it can be learnt and practised
with absolutely no financial risk at all, by means
of paper-trading - that is - trading using freely
available simulation software. Thus in the same
way a trainee airline pilot won't be let loose
into the skies without having learnt and rehearsed
their skills in a simulator, so a new trader can
employ the same technique before they start trading
real money. I "sim-traded" before I
gave up the day-job; it made it easy to leave
the safety-net of a monthly pay check knowing
from my simulated trading sessions that I could
already make money in the markets.
And that brings me to the most satisfying aspect
of trading for a living; money. On an average
day trading the Nasdaq, it is not unusual to make
more money in a couple of hours than I used to
make in a whole month working full time as a wage-slave.
There are bad days of course, days where things
just don't work out, but they pale into insignificance
over the course of a week or a month. It certainly
took some intensive studying and a lot of practise
before becoming a consistently profitable trader.
But the end result of that hard work is an immensely
valuable life skill that nobody can take away,
and which allows for incredible freedom.
Since I first started trading, the learning curve
has become even easier for the aspiring day trader,
with a multitude of new websites, training courses,
and books all covering the subject. I envy anyone
starting out in this business today - they certainly
have many more learning aids available to them
than I had at the same point in my own career.
So is day trading the ultimate work-from-home
job? No. I firmly believe it's the ultimate work-from
ANYWHERE job!
About the Author
Harvey Walsh is a full time Nasdaq day trader,
and part time trading tutor. He trades from his
home, or indeed wherever he happens to be when
travelling. He can be contacted via his website:
http://www.day-trading-freedom.com
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