When a job seeker decides whether to apply for full or part-time positions, they consider the amount of money they want to make and how much time they can devote to the job. Deciding to trade Forex full or part-time is a bit more complicated. You have to consider how much money you would like to make and the amount of time you can devote to trading, but there are additional differences between full and part-time trading that you must take into consideration.
If you don’t have much time to devote to trading due to other obligations in your life, then you may decide automatically that a full-time commitment is not an option for you and thereby choose the Best Trading Platform according to your skills and requirements. By general definition, full-time Forex trading requires more time investment than part-time trading. If you don’t have much time to devote to trading, then part-time trading is likely your only option right now. That is not to say that you won’t make a substantial amount of money as a part-time trader and earn your right to ditch your day job and trade full-time. It has happened to others, and it could happen to you.
On the other hand, if you have more time to devote to trading and want to make as much money as possible, you may consider full-time Forex trading. It is important to understand that you won’t necessarily accept more risk or make more money just by trading full-time. You definitely have the potential to earn more, but you can take risks and earn a lot of money even if you only trade part-time.
Traditional jobs will typically require you to work more to earn more, but that is not always true with Forex. You can trade part-time and make great investments that pay off, but you can also trade full-time and lose everything you invest by making bad trades. This is why you need to consider the differences between full and part-time trading beyond the time you invest. Keep reading to fully understand the full-time and part-time trading experience and determine which is best for you at this point in your life.
Part-Time Forex Trading
If you cannot devote enough time to trading to consider it your primary job, then you are probably a part-time trader. The designation of part-time simply means that you are unable or unwilling to devote eight hours or more to trading on a daily basis. You do not watch the market nonstop throughout the day and night, and there are other aspects of your life that take you away from trading for significant periods of time.
The main difference between your part-time trading schedule and that of a full-time trader is the amount of attention you give the market on a daily basis. You may sacrifice sleep to make trades during the night while you spend your days in the office earning a living for your family. If you consider parenting your full-time job, you may chase the market while your children nap or play soccer.
Forex is not a full-time possibility for everyone, but it is important to recognize that this market does not wait around for anyone. The best opportunities to buy the right currency at the lowest price can pass within minutes or hours, and if you are not actively trading at that time, those opportunities are missed. There are endless stories out there about part-time traders losing money because they were not available to trade and the market turned against their currency while they were in a meeting or taking care of a sick child at home.
Does this mean that part-time trading is unreasonable for the Forex market? Absolutely not, and there are many successful traders who have proven that part-time success is possible. The fact that the market moves so quickly just makes it more difficult to come up with a trading schedule that fits within other constraints of your life while still allowing you to make successful trades and earn money.
The secret to success as a part-time trader is to determine the best time for your trading activity and work with currencies that actively trade within that time period. The Forex market is a 24-hour game, but some currencies will trade more heavily at different times of the day. If you can work primarily with currencies trading during the times you are available to work the market, you will miss out on fewer buying opportunities.
In order to make this trading schedule work, you need to study different currencies and the relationship between currencies. Learn which currencies trade heaviest during which periods of time, and then create pairs according to the time periods that best match your trading schedule. As your schedule changes and other obligations change, you may need to adjust the periods of time that you work with Forex. That is why you need to study all currencies on the market and get to know the activity levels for different times of the day.
If you have short periods of free time throughout the day or night, you can use that time to study the market. If you try making trades at random times rather than during one consistent period of time, you are more likely to miss the best opportunities and lose money. Successful part-time trading on the Forex market requires you to select pairs with great care and remain consistent with at least one period of trading time each day.
When you have irregular periods of free time, study currencies, read Forex-related blogs, and plan ahead for your next moves on the market. This research is just as important as making actual trades. The more you know about the market and the different currencies, the more potential you have for success.
If you really don’t have a consistent period of time that you can devote to trading every day or on most days, you can use a computerized program to make trades on your behalf. This is not as hands-on as making all of your own trades, but it is a way to get in some trades while
