Studies show that the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. If you are a full time worker you’re probably working at the very least 8.5 hours per day. And for those who live on the east coast, these hours fall right in line with market hours. How to day trade with a full time job is on top of everyones mind as a result.
The question I often get from new traders is can I work a full time job while trading? I say “you absolutely can trade with a full time job”. But you may have to learn to work with one or more of the following systems.
Watch this YouTube video with the 6 ways to day trade with a full-time job HERE.
Work Your Alarm to Become a Full Time Trader
Let’s say you are at work handling multiple priorities and there is no time for you to sit and stare at a chart all day. Good news. There is no need to stare at a chart all day.
Brokers such as thinkorswim and others allow you to set alerts on price action. For instance, once you’ve drawn your supply and demand zones, you can create an alert on the price reaching a certain level, walk away (go to a meeting or work on other tasks), and then return to the chart when your alarm goes off.
On thinkorswim in order to create an alarm you can right click on the screen and then choose “create alarm”. It’s much better to do this so you don’t lose a day trade or experience losses since your trading activity is low due to the alarm. Full time traders or even part time traders start trading when the trade comes to them rather than being fully active all day in the markets. So don’t be active and instead trade when the big money trades. This will also help you to avoid being flagged as a pattern day trader if you have a small account with less than 25K dollars. Less money does not mean fewer trading opportunities so you always start trading.
Work Your “Remote”
If you are working remotely from home you may have more flexibility to keep your chart open on an additional monitor throughout the market period. Nevertheless, I suggest that you avoid watching the price movement all day and, instead, follow the previous example of drawing your zones and setting an alarm.
Work Your Lunch, Etc.
Do you have the kind of job that demands your full attention? Maybe you’re a surgeon who dares not interrupt a surgery to check a price alert. Please don’t! Your lunch break might be your only chance to trade. Be mindful when trading between the hours of 11:15 to 12:15 EST period. This time can be characterized as brutal with many false breakouts, choppy sideways moves, and low volume.
So if the lunch period isn’t for you, another time to consider is the opening bell period when the market opens 9:30 to 9:50 am (EST), which is often quite volatile and risky but comes with high volume, proving to be lucrative if you know how to trade in this time frame.
On a typical day, more shares trade hands in the first hour than during any other time, as orders are being processed that were placed on the previous day. Since volume tends to pick back up at the end of the market day towards the closing bell, an additional potentially lucrative period to take advantage of is between 3:00 and 4:00 pm (EST) which is known as Power Hour.
The U.S. stock market runs on local Eastern Standard Time (EST) corresponding to where it is geographically located. Do not be discouraged if you live on the west coast or even on the other side of the globe. Traders from all time zones can be successful they just have to adjust.
Work Your Time Zone
You will need to work your time zone to your advantage. This might entail trading after hours or you may need to wake up in the middle of the night or super early, following the strategies above.
What Do You Want Out of Life?
Ultimately, we spend a lot of time at work and it really affects people’s general happiness and life outcomes. Today is a good day to assess what you want out of life. Once you begin working towards becoming a profitable trader, you have to be clear about your priorities and make sure that your actions align with your goals.
Are you willing to wake up earlier to trade? Are you willing to skip lunch with colleagues and invest that time into your trading? Are you willing to set an alarm and walk away from the chart?
Tips
- Know that it’s going to be challenging focus on your goals, get clever with time management strategies, get organized, be flexible and if necessary request an alternate work schedule. Embrace the power of “no” to preserve your mental energy, avoid burnout, and be consistent.
- Find a trading style that suits you. You can be a swing trader or day a trader? Swing trading works best for those who have limited time and flexibility to manage charts during the day. Alternatively, day traders can find a few minutes or hours in the day to make a trade. Your personality will help you make this determination as well.
- Be Consistent and follow the rules to your chosen strategy and avoid the need to “systems hop” every time you discover a shiny new method. Consistency will help you to find out what your greatest struggles are, what you should work on, and what is going well.
Remember that maintaining a double lifestyle is not your permanent situation. As you become a more established trader you can one day drop the balancing act if your so desire.
We All Have The Same 24 Hours.
At the end of the day you want to trade but you still have to work, right? Why? Because there is a career to build, a family to support, or a dream to fulfill. It’s not that easy to just walk away from a day job. I get it. So don’t quit your day job, especially if you are new to trading.
This double life is quite a challenge but you can do it.
To Sum Things Up …
Know and Work Your System
Whether you work remotely or in another time zone, draw your zones and set an alarm. Based on your lifestyle and responsibilities you will determine which period of the day will work best for you to trade stocks or options. Will it be the opening bell, lunchtime, power hour, etc.
Remember That Consistency Is Key
As you begin to trade capital, you will need to get a consistent trading approach. Don’t fall into the trap of “system-hopping” by constantly changing your method every few weeks or months. You will likely not see any real improvements in your trading with this tactic.
Day Trading Method for Those With a Full Time Job
The Maurice Kenny trading community is filled with day traders who started trading as part-time traders by trading just a few hours a day.
If you would like access to a trading strategy that will complement your full time status, I suggest you take my free course on “How to Day Trade Like the Top 10% in 4 Easy Steps and Make $10K per Month.”
Resources
Check out Can you Day Trade With 100 Dollars
Learn a trading method that will help you grow your income and become consistently profitable. Click HERE.
Feel free to check out our 1-hr webinar and other FREE educational resources to help guide you as you begin your new journey to financial freedom.
Also, download a ( FREE E-BOOK ) by Maurice Kenny DAY TRADE LIKE A MILLIONAIRE.
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