The financial markets are looking for applicants that fit these qualifications:
- Expect long hours of study and research. Assume you will lose money in the beginning.
- A person interested in becoming a trader must have the mindset of an entrepreneur. Risk, irregular income, and spending money to make money, are all part of the business.
- You must trade like a business person and not a gambler. Gamblers need not apply; go to Vegas instead.
- Risk management will be your priority. Too much risk exposure will eventually lead you to be an unemployed trader with no trading capital.
- You are your own human resource department. Be prepared to manage your own greed and fear.
- To keep your morale up, you must keep all your losses small, and allow your winning trades to be as large as possible.
- You must have enough trading capital. The minimum is $25,000 in risk capital, or close to half a million to trade for a comfortable living. Small trading accounts are eaten up by percentage commissions and end up being unprofitable. When trading for a living, you must be able to live off your returns and not touch your initial trading principle.
- Jesse Livermore’s quote for potential candidates: “The game of speculation is the most uniformly fascinating game in the world. But it is not a game for the stupid, the mentally lazy, the person of inferior emotional balance, or the get-rich-quick adventurer. They will die poor.”
If you are interested in this position please apply at your favorite broker. Financial markets are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on wins or losses.