THREAD: Balancing a Full time Job while also trading.

This is the #1 question i’ve been asked recently. If you didn’t know, i work full time as an architect on top of trading. It can be rough at times but if you plan it out, it can be very manageable.

I am also making this thread under the assumption that a lot of the full-timers are under the PDT rule (account under $25,000). It’s totally okay to be under pdt and it’s okay to do something other than trade full time. Having 2 jobs doesn’t make you inferior; makes you a beast!

Because everyone’s job is different, there is no ONE recipe for trading success while working 9-5.

Example: my job as an architect requires me to meet deadlines. I can work throughout the night to focus on more trading during the day as long as i meet my deadlines.

if your job focuses more on customer service, etc., you need to be answering phones and can’t pay attention to market movement as closely.

For this reason - my #1 tip for balancing work and trading is:

DONT TRY to be a day trading hero if you can’t watch scanners frequently!

Why would you try and be a big time day trader without having 100% certainty that you can constantly watch a day trade? I screwed up so many day trades due to meetings, calls, etc.

Just SWING TRADE HEAVILY. Find the best setups that you can trade with a SET PLAN.

Finding trades that allow you to stick to a plan step for step is so much less stressful than needing to think quickly on your feet and create a spontaneous plan while walking into a meeting. Focusing on Daytrading can really hurt your performance at your full time job as well.

I also can’t stress how important it is that you don’t let the other people’s $100,000 daily gains keep you awake at night.

Don’t stress about not making $100,000 a day RIGHT NOW; instead focus on what your NEXT STEP is towards getting there. You will focus 10x better.

Finally - remember that until you go full time as a trader; don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Your employer is giving you a ton of benefits; you don’t have to pay a ton of money for insurance, You get 401k contribution, etc.

If you can handle both trading and work, WHY NOT?