Some people grew up wanting to work in finance. They aimed to get involved in trading and earn this way, while some are just finding out about it, and they want to know more to be ready to invest. The life of a trader doesn’t mean putting your money in your trading account and forgetting about it. At least if you want your trading to be successful. Many who don’t know enough about trading will say a trader’s life is the life of a gambler, but that is far from the truth.
Trading life seeks lots of hours spent on various factors. They include research, reading charts, analysis, revising your trading strategy, following the news, and consulting with your broker. It changes every day because the trading market mirrors the world’s economy. Living as a trader, you will learn a lot about how the world functions outside of finance. The life of a trader is complicated, full of information and opportunities. How do you start, and what does a usual trader’s day look like?
The Basics
To become a trader, you will have to find a certified and licensed company and a broker. You will need a trustworthy third-party to get into the trading market. A trader’s life requires having an expert by your side, and nothing beats a market expert, also known as a certified broker. It’s easier than to find a scam-free company, and you can do that where trades are mostly made nowadays – on the internet. Some sites act as regulators, so you can quickly check if your company of choice is on their list. Suppose it doesn’t search further.
A trading strategy is also a must if you aim to be a profitable trader. Without a goal, as cliche as it sounds, you can’t achieve much. That’s why we mentioned above, becoming a trader means always learning, observing, reading, consulting, etc. Let’s assume you are past all the basics and fully stepped into the life of trading. What would a day in the life of a typical trader look like?
The Market Opens
When we are talking about Forex, the trading market works 24/7 (excluding weekends). There are lots of opportunities all the time. Still, to make your life easier, you should pick the most suitable time for you to trade without any added pressure. Some traders experience FOMO, so apps are a blessing and a curse because you can easily find yourself checking the app all the time.
Let’s say you are from America, and you start your trading day at 8 AM when bull charges at Wall Street. If you chose to be a full-time trader, this means your alarm is already set, and you know it’s time to check what’s happening at Wallstreet. You must catch up on the changes that occurred in the active markets while you were sleeping. A regular trader will look at any stock news connected to the asset they decided to invest in and see if something could affect it overnight, leading to big moves. To avoid any risk, you should double-check your internet connection so the charts aren’t crooked and you get the wrong picture.
An hour later, at 9 AM, this can mean a pre-opening session, when the US works, and the European market is about to start, creating bigger trading opportunities. During pre-opening, you can get a general sense of where the market is most likely to open. A couple of minutes later, the pre-opening prices will be there, so keep them in the back of your mind or somewhere on your list. When the markets are open for trading at 9:15 AM, a trader will usually check up on the positions they created and observe the market to spot trading patterns.
The Rest of the Day
Once the market opens, the day will be exciting, hectic, or maybe nothing special will happen. Whatever the case is, an experienced trader won’t always trade. While it’s essential to keep everything in check, it’s somewhat impulsive to trade every time you see a little opportunity (like the lower price of a stock, etc.). It doesn’t mean it will benefit you in the long run, so that’s why a trader’s life includes much analysis. Traders spend much of their time looking at others’ established broker’s analysis. Many of them have their own verified Twitter accounts, where they post regularly. Moreover, they observe their pie charts at the end of the day.
It’s essential to check the volatility and what’s happening in the world that can potentially influence the market or your stock specifically. During the workdays, you can decide whether it’s good to trade or not and pick up on a lot of information. While weekends are there to revise your strategy, see what could have been done better, and consult with experts on how you should approach the market next week. Yes, we said a trader should already have a trading strategy, but strategies continually improve and change as the market changes. That’s why we emphasize constant learning and being present. It’s a lot of work, but if you play it smart and don’t act impulsively, you can gain even more than expected.
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