Is trading really worth it?

[BlackHatCoiner]

Can I have a precise and constructive answer on whether trading is really worth spending time on? My brother wants to do this job for a living, and I'm just curious if it's a dignified, worth-spending occupation. I don't know where to ask, I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

I've used to read experts' discussions, papers, books and the like, but I find no such stuff on trading. It's a very vague term anyway. Are there really people who just "buy low and sell high", making a living by just doing that? I can't comprehend how can a person seriously make a living by something that looks complete gambling, instead of providing goods, services, work etc.

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[bounty786]

As someone who's been trading for a while now, I can tell you that it definitely is worth it! I've seen firsthand how much money can be made through trading, and it's really opened up a lot of opportunities for me.

I know that some people view trading as a risky endeavor, but I believe that as long as you're smart about it and don't let emotions get in the way, it can be a very lucrative way to make money.

[hugeblack]

Trading is an ideal tool for maximizing wealth, as you have a fixed income that covers your expenses, and then a surplus of money to invest, and the role of trading comes to maximize those investments.

Crypto trading in short is a balance between cash and crypto and trying to determine the appropriate entry and exit points to maximize profits. In short, it is a race that needs time to be an unknown variable, something that does not happen when it is used to pay bills and provide food that needs fixed expenses.

So Answer is Yes & No depend on time

[sklopan]

It is also worth considering the negative side - this can lead to losses. I think this is really important to understand.

[GreatArkansas]

I have a friend who already resigned from his full-time job for years and he is just doing trading.
For me, trading is not for everyone. But if you will learn and become dedicated to trading, you will become profitable and your time and effort will be worth it.
Just be ready because if you start trading for a living, you expect to risk some amount of funds compared to just working which you are just rendering your time and get your wages.

[inthelongrun]

I am also curious. I tried it many times but it always won't last long. Or maybe trading is not for me or maybe I need to learn more strategies. I've known a lot of people that were into trading but they too ended up stopping or at the very least stopped depending from it as its main source of revenue. I can say many of them were good traders at that time because they made a lot of money from it. But why they stopped? Obviously they lost later on, just like me. Few years ago, someone taught me a new strategy in forex. He was sharing his positions and trades where he earned thousands of dollars. But just last year, I was informed that he was struggling financially with many unpaid debts and his business nearing bankruptcy.   

The only people I knew that until now are still trading are the kind of long term traders. They're holding their positions for weeks and months. And they are mostly in the stock market where volatility is not that high. And they have their own jobs and businesses as their main source of income.

I usually do not trust paid coaches and mentors. People that called themselves traders but are busy conducting their own paid seminars. They are gurus that read too many books and known too many strategies. I reckon these strategies and learnings won't work all the time.   

 

[tadamichi]

Can I have a precise and constructive answer on whether trading is really worth spending time on? My brother wants to do this job for a living, and I'm just curious if it's a dignified, worth-spending occupation. I don't know where to ask, I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

I've used to read experts' discussions, papers, books and the like, but I find no such stuff on trading. It's a very vague term anyway. Are there really people who just "buy low and sell high", making a living by just doing that? I can't comprehend how can a person seriously make a living by something that looks complete gambling, instead of providing goods, services, work etc.

It highly depends on how much capital he has. What we saw in the last years is an abnormality, the usual return of the stock market would be like 7-8% yearly. And the most elite of the elite traders could maybe double this return, but not forever. It’s common knowledge that it is really hard to even outperform the market and it takes many years to even build a good portfolio that you can live from.

If he has 100.000 invested(which most can’t afford fast), an average return of 7.000€ yearly wouldn’t be that high and not worth the risk(as only income), he can survive with this, but it’s much more efficient to build a career out of actual work and invest at the same time. This maybe changes with 1-2 million invested, then it would be like 70k a year. Bitcoiners are used to much higher gains, but these kind of returns are insanity in traditional investments, we should really appreciate it more.

So my advice is, he shouldn’t risk everything for trading. If he wanna make trading a living he should maybe try to look for jobs in this field. Technical analysis is not that effective, people put way too much emphasis on it, and forget the basics of investment. Its easy to loose focus there. His best bet is to work and invest at the same time. Just living from investments is a privilege big capital holders have and then there’s so many factors outside of technical analysis that he isnt prepared for, that could make him loose everything. The best traders have insider knowledge/ technology that he will never access to outside these circles, this is really a battle against sharks.

Theres a huge hype on social media by coaches and all the other bs, that make it way too complicated and make more money from selling dreams/ talking and not actual trading. The reality is boring, a good/ fun job and consistently investing in something undervalued like Bitcoin by simply dcaing, will probably outperform any trading a regular person can do, and be much less stressful at the same time.

If he wants to trade he can do it while having a stable income and prove that he can live from it, there’s no need to give up everything for trading before reaching this level. If he isnt better than billion dollar companies with many employees yet, he will also not outperform the market.

[palle11]

It is worth it if you can give your time to it. It is worth it if you can take the risk. It is worth it if you can bear the bad feeling of a losing trade. Trading is a difficult endeavour because it involves your money directly and you can lose it easily at different times. So you can choose what you want, not many people have survived with trading.

I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

It is very important to trading to learn technical details of it otherwise it will become a lucky game, that is gambling.

[tadamichi]

It is worth it if you can give your time to it. It is worth it if you can take the risk. It is worth it if you can bear the bad feeling of a losing trade. Trading is a difficult endeavour because it involves your money directly and you can lose it easily at different times. So you can choose what you want, not many people have survived with trading.

Its about capital, risk management, decision making and having access to information. If you’re not exceptionally well in all of these, just spending time on it wont change anything. That’s why big money is handled by big institutions. There’s some people that can succeed regardless, but it’s never necessary to solely depend on trading before actually succeeding.

I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

It is very important to trading to learn technical details of it otherwise it will become a lucky game, that is gambling.

Math can’t predict human irrationally and politics, technical analysis wont change anything about that.

[serjent05]

I've used to read experts' discussions, papers, books and the like, but I find no such stuff on trading. It's a very vague term anyway. Are there really people who just "buy low and sell high", making a living by just doing that?

There are several articles and explanations regarding trading.  It isn't as simple as buy low and sell high stuff.  There are lots of parameters to be explored, methods, and calculations to be learned when one is to venture into trading.  Trading isn't a 1 day learning period, it takes years to master.  If your brother wanted to make a living out of trading, then he shouldn't quit his job and just do some sideline trading first, just to test the waters if he is really into trading.  

I can't comprehend how can a person seriously make a living by something that looks complete gambling, instead of providing goods, services, work etc.

Unlike gambling, trading can take advantage of price fluctuation.  there are certain methods in Technical Analysis where they can able to calculate and predict several entry points and selling points of the trade. But one thing, trading is not for everyone.

[ChrisPop]

Trading is a very unconventional profession indeed, especially retail trading.

I'll say this: it requires a lot of hard-work and dedication and at the end you still won't know for sure you are made for this. One could waste years from his life trying different strategies, markets, timeframes, etc. and still not become a successful (constantly profitable) trader. But with talent and a lot of determination you can become proficient at it and basically print money out of the markets. That is the dream of many, but to get there, oh boy... buckle up for some extreme up and downs. Few survive...

[okorieemmanuel]

Can I have a precise and constructive answer on whether trading is really worth spending time on? My brother wants to do this job for a living, and I'm just curious if it's a dignified, worth-spending occupation. I don't know where to ask, I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

I've used to read experts' discussions, papers, books and the like, but I find no such stuff on trading. It's a very vague term anyway. Are there really people who just "buy low and sell high", making a living by just doing that? I can't comprehend how can a person seriously make a living by something that looks complete gambling, instead of providing goods, services, work etc.

Hello BlackHatCoiner],
 Yes! Trading is worth it. There is a big difference between trading and gambling. When you trade with a strategy, the probability of success increase. Since the probability of success is not equal to 1 in trading, some people regard it as gambling. However, if you monitor the market, do your analysis with expert advisory coupled with good technical indicators/ oscillators, you will discover that trading is not gambling. Since it is not gambling, then getting the right tools to trade and making research, learning and adapting to trends and volatility of the market is worth learning. For beginners, it is advisable to learn with just one currency pair. Then when you get use to it, you could shift to others. Trading is worth learning.

[Cryptmuster]

Trading is a very unconventional profession indeed, especially retail trading.

I'll say this: it requires a lot of hard-work and dedication and at the end you still won't know for sure you are made for this. One could waste years from his life trying different strategies, markets, timeframes, etc. and still not become a successful (constantly profitable) trader. But with talent and a lot of determination you can become proficient at it and basically print money out of the markets. That is the dream of many, but to get there, oh boy... buckle up for some extreme up and downs. Few survive...

If we are talking about constant stable earnings from trading, then it is incredibly difficult. When I try to trade on a regular basis, most of the time I get losses. For me, this works with a wait strategy, I wait in stablecoins most of the time and only buy on straits. In this case, very often I make a profit, it seems clear to me, so it works for me. But trading is hard, I wouldn't be able to do it all the time.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

I was once a devoted day trader, though I didn't take it as a profession, but it was my major source of income back then, and I can honestly tell you that it is profitable, but that is if you really know what you are doing, Trading (depending on the type) can be very risky but also very profitable, trading spot is less risky but the profit is always small, as well as the loss when your analysis fails, trading the futures market is very profitable but also very risky as any wrong move will have you loosing all your money, most especially if you don't use stop loss.

In order not to bore you with long talk, i will conclude by saying that trading is profitable, and can be taken up as a profession, but you have to be really really sure that this is what you want and that you know what you are doing.

[Hamphser]

Can I have a precise and constructive answer on whether trading is really worth spending time on? My brother wants to do this job for a living, and I'm just curious if it's a dignified, worth-spending occupation. I don't know where to ask, I don't understand technical analysis; when he explains it to me I feel it's some sort of gambling strategy.

I've used to read experts' discussions, papers, books and the like, but I find no such stuff on trading. It's a very vague term anyway. Are there really people who just "buy low and sell high", making a living by just doing that? I can't comprehend how can a person seriously make a living by something that looks complete gambling, instead of providing goods, services, work etc.

Really worth it but this isnt something a state which everybody could able to have a good grasps.There are people who are indeed making trading as a living.Yes, it is risky and do really look like gambling but this one

involves analysis and in depth skills and knowledge which could really lessen out the risk but well its not really a guarantee.Losses is inevitable but the main thing you should think about is on how to sustain yourself.
Also, dont anticipate that you could able to make yourself reach that state fast because being a profitable trader does really takes time and lots of effort. Buy low and Sell high might be the basic principle or hearing too be that too basic but executing it on the actual situation is really the hardest part due to market condition which is really very unpredictable and this is where analysis do comes in.

[abel1337]

Trading is profitable and it is basically worth it. I see your brother is serious about trading because he consider it to be his job and he's willing to put his time doing trading. I don't see anything wrong with the decision of your brother since knows the risk, and he's pretty devoted in trading. All I can advise is to see his trading portfolio if how many he has earning on trading these past few months and if it worth the time and effort. But I highly suggest to have a stable job and consider trading as a side hustle since there's a great risk on trading and it's hard to depend on trading when it comes to income flow.

I've been a trader for a couple of years now and I'm going-in and out in trading depending on market situation, Profits were really inconsistent but the profit should be enough for a living. Of course this will depends on the trading skills of your brother.

[Lanatsa]

Definitely worth it i could say basing up with real experience although im not really going to be in full time but i do make it out as a side job or investment on which i do able to make other source of income which do really

adds up more into my current job which is a great or big help if we do talk about everyday living expenses but this isnt something simple that everybody could able to handle on and just like what others been saying above that it do really takes time and effort before you could handle yourself into the market.Traders doesnt really mean that you should go in need to full time which there are traders who do just wait for price to reach up before they do make out such action which means that it doesnt involved active interaction which means that you could still do other things even if you are trading on something.

[palle11]

It is very important to trading to learn technical details of it otherwise it will become a lucky game, that is gambling.

Math can’t predict human irrationally and politics, technical analysis wont change anything about that.

How do you think that trade is analysed, charted and mapped out? Or how do you think forcast or speculation is made? Most are from technical analysis. Technical analysis is what holds the trend more. After news or fundamental (such news in adoption) then the trend forms and continues that way through technical analysis you can know that. Or after news the trend can continue if it is not of high impact.

[stompix]

Math can’t predict human irrationally and politics, technical analysis wont change anything about that.

How do you think that trade is analysed, charted and mapped out? Or how do you think forcast or speculation is made? Most are from technical analysis. Technical analysis is what holds the trend more. After news or fundamental (such news in adoption) then the trend forms and continues that way through technical analysis you can know that. Or after news the trend can continue if it is not of high impact.

And how accurate have TA and charts predicted the situation we're now in?
Have charts and TA predicted the dump when Elon had nothing better to do than tweet pro and against bitoin?
Have charts predicted the slump when Covid hit? Have charts predicted the dump when Russia invaded Ukraine?

Every single time I look at all those "experts" claiming to know where the price is heading I look at their history and see how they were wrong tens of times, with the same logic they use in creating charts after charts after charts.

Guessing the price when it comes to crypto is just gambling, but nobody wants to admit they are just doing guesswork based on nothing.
There is no production capacity, there is no number of rigs, there is no cost for shipping, there is no accurate daily consumption and inventories, and all the data you have when trading oil for example, in cryptos you have nothing! Nothing!

[BlackHatCoiner]

And how accurate have TA and charts predicted the situation we're now in?

Just an addition: My brother checks no crypto-charts. He prefers Forex and gold. Does the same logic apply there too? I honestly don't know what to say or whom to address to.