New to the site - my story.

[spennyboy555]

Hey,

I've spent the past 6 hours reading this forum and thought it was about time I said hello. I've been 'trading' at home for the past 6 months. After having a keen interest in the market for a while but not having the funds/understanding to get involved up till that point.

I bought a few books, read up various websites and decided to jump right in with both feet. Thankfully I seem to have found a rather shallow end of the pool as I’ve done ok in these past 6 months and a lot of learning has happened every day.

Now I chose that path because till you have experience, what the books are talking about make no real sense in real world terms and as the stock market is akin to nothing else one will experience, I thought it would be essential to give it a go, prosper or get burned - either way I would have gained the experience I needed.

6 months on I have that experience, but now I have a hunger for the 'real' information on how things work and a need to improve my strategy from "that looks good, let’s invest and see what happens". Looking deeper into technical analysis and other research techniques and making something 'proper' of my attempts to become a trader and ultimately make the big money opposed to the few hundred here and there and the odd lucky thousand.

I have just signed up with 7city for unit 1 FSA regs for the end of this month, more so that anything so I have it under my belt should it be called upon, but also as the research/studying for the exam will also provide loads of knowledge that I currently don’t have. I think this also shows willing and commitment to anyone I should need to approach regarding the subject. (On a side note, any reference material I could be pointed to that would be of use would be most appreciated)

Started spread betting a week ago after previously ignoring it - being as it has such a 'high risk' label to it I thought it be best to be content with investing/trading and understanding market movements before jumping into spreads and getting burnt on unjust market movements. It was a good week for gold.

That’s pretty much me, hoping to be the "Rocky" of the share world.

In terms of qualifications I have no formal university background and only an IT diploma sits above my GCSEs so I fully realise that I would be bottom of the pack on a job hunt which is why I believe it’s my research/understanding and proof of self certification that is crucial if I am to succeed. (Hence the analogy to Rocky).

Any advice/critique on the above would be most appreciated. I’m hoping this forum may be a platform to meet members who have been in my position previously and may be able to shine a torch in the direction I’m heading.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[timsk]

Hi spenny',
Welcome to T2W,
I suggest you read what you can in this forum and through the 'Trading FAQ' that is linked at the foot of this page. The "that looks good, let’s invest and see what happens" approach tends to be called gambling around these parts and you'll surely lose your money eventually if you continue down that path! To build a strategy from scratch is no easy task and, if you've no idea where to start, try using one of free ones available here on T2W as starting point. If you start a journal (in the Journals forum) and say what you're doing and what your objectives are, you'lll get lots of help. Before you do that, you'll need to decide what instrument(s) to trade and what time frame.
Enjoy,
Tim.

 

[virtuos0]

Hey,

I've spent the past 6 hours reading this forum and thought it was about time I said hello. I've been 'trading' at home for the past 6 months. After having a keen interest in the market for a while but not having the funds/understanding to get involved up till that point.

I bought a few books, read up various websites and decided to jump right in with both feet. Thankfully I seem to have found a rather shallow end of the pool as I’ve done ok in these past 6 months and a lot of learning has happened every day.

Now I chose that path because till you have experience, what the books are talking about make no real sense in real world terms and as the stock market is akin to nothing else one will experience, I thought it would be essential to give it a go, prosper or get burned - either way I would have gained the experience I needed.

6 months on I have that experience, but now I have a hunger for the 'real' information on how things work and a need to improve my strategy from "that looks good, let’s invest and see what happens". Looking deeper into technical analysis and other research techniques and making something 'proper' of my attempts to become a trader and ultimately make the big money opposed to the few hundred here and there and the odd lucky thousand.

I have just signed up with 7city for unit 1 FSA regs for the end of this month, more so that anything so I have it under my belt should it be called upon, but also as the research/studying for the exam will also provide loads of knowledge that I currently don’t have. I think this also shows willing and commitment to anyone I should need to approach regarding the subject. (On a side note, any reference material I could be pointed to that would be of use would be most appreciated)

Started spread betting a week ago after previously ignoring it - being as it has such a 'high risk' label to it I thought it be best to be content with investing/trading and understanding market movements before jumping into spreads and getting burnt on unjust market movements. It was a good week for gold.

That’s pretty much me, hoping to be the "Rocky" of the share world.

In terms of qualifications I have no formal university background and only an IT diploma sits above my GCSEs so I fully realise that I would be bottom of the pack on a job hunt which is why I believe it’s my research/understanding and proof of self certification that is crucial if I am to succeed. (Hence the analogy to Rocky).

Any advice/critique on the above would be most appreciated. I’m hoping this forum may be a platform to meet members who have been in my position previously and may be able to shine a torch in the direction I’m heading.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

You sound like you have a brain, which is more than most 'wannabe traders' possess. Without qualifications the chances of getting a job at a bank or a fund or as a buy-side trader are miniscule, but you can look at joining a 'prop shop'. Assuming that is you don't want to trade your own money.