How to Trade Stocks for a Job
According to Allbusiness.com, nearly 90% of traders lose money investing in the stock market. This is due to a variety of issues, such as, lack of equipment, education, and experience. Thus, it's important to thoroughly educate yourself on the risks and rewards of trading stocks before beginning your job as a trader.
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Instructions
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Enroll in a class at your local community college or university. Although most colleges do not offer a stock trading class, nearly every college offers a class on principles of finance. The class is able to provide a comprehensive view into the market as a whole
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Ask someone to be your mentor. Although books on stock trading are helpful and inexpensive, the information provided become easily outdated because of the constantly changing market. Ask friends, family members or co-workers, who trade stocks for a living, if they would be willing to coach you. If you do not personally know any traders, search for "trading coach" to find a list of on-line coaches. Thoroughly research the trading coach to ensure he or she is helpful and is able to provide insights. There are some coaches, such as Timothy Sykes, who require monthly, rather than an hourly, fee for on-line coaching.
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Visit your local library to learn about the various trading styles. In addition to checking out books on trading, select a few autobiographies of famous traders. Reading these autobiographies enables you to gain insight into the psychology of trading. A lot of famous traders, such as, Jesse Livermore and Timothy Sykes, grew rich not through their trading style, but through their disciplined trading psychology.
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Create a comfortable work environment. Most traders recommend having multiple flat panel monitors, in addition to a high-speed computer. Invest in a comfortable desk and an ergonomic chair.
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Create a list of companies you would like to trade. Your daily newspaper could provide a list of stocks. There are also websites, such as, Yahoo Finance that offer free charts and company reports. Make notes of the highest price at which you would buy the stock.
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Open a brokerage account that is right for you. If you are going to be trading stocks for a job, having free charts and other utilities is recommended. Search Google for "on-line brokers" and you should find hundreds of licensed brokerage firms. Investigate every on-line broker to decide which broker is right for you.
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Fill out an account application on-line or ask for a mailed application. This step requires basic information such as your income, tax information, and date of birth. Processing an account application typically takes 1 to 3 business days.
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Fund the your newly acquired brokerage account through money wire, check, debit card or bank transfer. Funding a brokerage account takes around 1 to 3 business days depending on the broker.
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Begin investing small amounts of your account into the stock market. If you are not able to profit after a few trades, continue educating yourself about the market for a few more weeks.
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- Photo Credit stock chart with a pencil mark image by Dmitriy Lesnyak from Fotolia.com
