Trading for Living

For ages, the traditional 9-to-5 job has been the standard for a steady income. But characters like “Bunny” in “Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani,” have ignited a spark among many who were seeking ways to make money while pursuing their passions. But you know what they say, passion and work don’t go hand-in-hand. In the whole picture, the stock market stood otherwise with time, offering a unique opportunity to win this long-lost game. 

Stock market has always puzzled people and scared many. The fear is valid if you don’t know how the stock market works. But if you trade for living (only if you first learn the skill), you choose a roller-coaster ride of money, where you enjoy both ups and downs of the market. As Warren Buffet famously quoted, “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient”. But how? 

Well, to know that you gotta be patient, till all the wealth (knowledge- not all wealth is money) is transferred to your curious mind (account). Let’s explore what you can do to earn a living out of your trading skills.

Ways To Earn Living Through Trading – Invest, Reap, Re-Invest 

In this ever-changing world, there is always something new happening around the corner. Thanks to digitalisation and globalization, countries are now like neighbors, closer than ever. Everything has become super convenient, whether it’s growing a business or investing in global companies. By Jan 2023, a whopping 5099 global companies are up for grabs in India for trading.

But you know what they say; the one who works hard, never runs out of opportunities. And the one who works smart, can even turn tough times into a winning opportunity. What you need is the skill, practice, and patience to ace the stock market game, in your way, like Rohit Sharma, Rinku Singh, and Mohammed Shami. 

Disclaimer: Stock market is tempting but hey, it’s a bit of a wild ride.  It is inherently risky, especially if you’re unaware of technicalities of the stock market (half-knowledge is more dangerous than not knowing anything at all). 

Here is the list of opportunities that the stock market gives to an individual as a plan for earning a living. Depending on the type of needs, time, and personal preference, you can choose options wisely. 

Independent Trader

What’s better than working for yourself, from anywhere in the world. Just you, market, and money vibes! If you master the art of the stock market, you can live a free life where you just work for yourself. No more fake chuckles on your Boss’s not-so-funny jokes or living a monotonous life your whole life. But building a successful trading career requires dedication, continuous learning, and a strong understanding of risk management.

Broker

It’s a middleman – no loss, only profit deals. Brokers are licensed third-party service providers who help buy and sell shares to investors. To become a broker you need to practice trading with an authorized broker for atleast 2 years, get NISM certifications, and qualify the eligibility criteria mentioned by SEBI. But once done, you earn with every trade happening on your platform, without moving an inch.

Research Analyst 

If charts, market, and numbers are your close friends, you can opt for a research analyst job. Just decode financial data, analyze performance, and recommend stocks to clients, easy peasy! All the finance geeks can go for equity research analysts who perusal and report financial statements, ratios, and fundamental parameters. If you think picking the right stock is your thing, the technical analyst job is for you. 

Advisor 

If right stock market advice seems like your forte, then learn and practice stock market trading until there is no one who does it better than you do. Help clients pick the best stocks and grow with their reserved portfolio. To be an advisor, what you need is an NISM Investment Advisor certificate. Besides this, registering with SEBI as an investment advisor is also mandatory. 

Professional Trader/Investor 

Stock market is fascinating, but if the hunger goes with a balanced mindset then you can become a professional trader or investor. A professional investor/trader focuses on long-term investment strategies and believes in building wealth over time. To increase the portion of their benefit, sometimes they enter and exit positions over a shorter period of time. 

Portfolio Manager

Staying confident on your picks makes you happy, but making everyone happy makes you happier. But you know what they say; never sell something you’re good at for free, so you can charge for your confident picks by managing the investor’s portfolio. Professional managers also actively track stock market moves and monitor the portfolio of their investors to avoid risks. 

Other Related Jobs in The Stock Market in India 

Wait, there is more into the stock market field. If you choose trading for living, you can do more than just the above mentioned options. Here are mentioned the other options you can opt to make a living out of the skill of trading: 

Writing/Journalism

• Among the crowd of expert sock market traders, you can craft content, blogs, newsletters, articles, and reports on the essential information of the market. 

Stock Market Trainer

• If you know how the stock market works and teaching is what you love, you can instruct students and empower students for financial freedom.

Relationship Manager

• They are the ones who maintain the existing client relations and acquire new clients, ensuring maximum customer satisfaction. Relationship manager has to be well-informed about the current market trends, historical events, performance metrics, and other information.

Stock Market Operations

• It includes back-office operations, such as regulatory compliance, accounting, payment, settlement, etc. 

Although, the options don’t end here, but the time to give advice is. Before we wrap, what you need to know is some setbacks (cons) that come with trading/investing. The list doesn’t end with the disclaimer of “Stock Market Risks”. It is way more than what everyone talks about. Let’s know about them in brief:

Limitations (Cons) of Trading for Living 

With pros comes cons, beat trading or anything else in the world. There are many benefits of choosing trading as your career options. But here, let us list some drawbacks of stock market trading that you need to know thoroughly before choosing it as a full-time career or living option. So without skipping anything, read it throughout or regret later. 

Also Read: Understanding the Benefits of Holding Stocks for the Long Term

Trading Income Can Fluctuates, Sometimes A Lot

Trading sounds tempting, but what most people don’t know is trading income may change, depending on the market conditions and your trading set-up. Sometimes this difference can be a lot from year to year. To avoid the anxiety and restlessness, use a robust trading set-up, risk management strategy, thorough market research, and patience with time. Remember – stock market is nothing but a mechanism to transfer money from impatient to patient ones.

No Safety Nets of Life 

Most people assume that trading can earn them big bucks and all their financial problems will be over. That’s a good fantasy, until reality hits. The reality is, unlike corporate jobs, traders get no life safety nets, that means no insurance, no pension fund, no work saving, no paid holidays, no sick days. And when sometimes you lose your money, there is no way to compensate for the damage, but build a bullet-proof, well-researched strategy to recover even better. Easy to talk to, but will break your bones in real life, I bet!

One Bad Day And There Your Go

Life can be unpredictable and not every day is a good day. Well, on one of these bad days, when one just can’t get up, you choose to trade and face losses. Feeling stupid on yourself, you add more and more trade to make a better average, and in a jiffy, you realize you have lost 10x of that amount. Hence, it’s important to have a robust risk management strategy and trading psychology to fight these mid battles  to win yourself over.

Hard to Compound 

Gaining a high percentage of income through a good trade set-up is completely possible. However, when one trades for living, they have to pull out profits to pay their bills and other expenses. Hence, compounding the income becomes complex. It is crucial to have another source of income or good financial plan to separate your investment and income. 

Difference Between Being A Trader and Wanting To Trade 

Many people feel the excitement when they discuss profits from trading among friends or get one good deal full of massive money bags. But where do the differences lie? 

Well, trading out of excitement is similar to gambling! You see the market rising up, you invest, gain benefit, reinvest with more confidence. And here you hit the wall of losses and ending opportunities. You might win a few times out of flukes but what you need is to learn the technical intricacies of market and logic. 

The difference between being a trade and wanting to trade is that craving gets you excited and pleasure that lasts a jiffy. Blinded by the profits, what people often avoid, is the need of learning to trade. 

On the flip side, being a trader is actually a boring job. You need to stay patient, study stocks after stocks, until you find one. The wait doesn’t end here! What next is finding the right trading strategy, time to enter, and sit back till the stock hits the targeted zone. 

The advice at the end is if you still get thrilled on the idea of trading for a living, it’s time to search for the best institutions who teach technicalities of the  stock market. Here is one from the writer – enroll for GTF – Get Together Finance – one of the finest institutions – telling you the secrets of the stock market and how you can sneak in at the right price, calculate risk, and book your benefit. 

And remember – the more you research – the better.

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