# Full time work and Forex - is it possible?



## deanj (9 June 2010)

Hi guys,

I have started to become increasing interested in taking up FOREX trading, however i am currently employed full time in a financial services role and wouldnt really be able to concentrate on trading during working hours.

I know trading equities end of day trading can be successful, however i also know FOREX trading has no end of day per say! so my question is, along side a full time job, is successful and profitable FOREX trading possible? Can I come home and spend a few hours or so at night allowing my trades to extend over a few days?

Thanks guys, any input would be really appreciated.


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## lesm (9 June 2010)

deanj said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I have started to become increasing interested in taking up FOREX trading, however i am currently employed full time in a financial services role and wouldnt really be able to concentrate on trading during working hours.
> 
> ...




Yes. You can trade the London session, including the overlap into the New York session. The London/New York overlap is normally the highest liquidity period. The London session opens at 5:00pm AEST and the New York Session opens at 10:00pm AEST. The Asian session ends at 7:00pm AEST, so you can possibly catch the last of the Asian/London session overlap, which is a two hour overlap.

Depends on how much of a night owl you are


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## supermatt (10 June 2010)

I am in the same boat, i work full time and dont really have much time during the day to look at the market. 

forex still has end of day. Its at around 6.30 - 7 am in australia where the new daily candle starts, alot of people just wait for the daily candle to end and the new one to start and base their trades off the daily chart.

obviously you need wider stops if you are going to do this and need to be careful and all that kinda stuff.

as time goes on, to be honest i dont really like long term charts in forex, real volatile of late and anything can happen, especially when us aussies are in bed when the fx market is at its most active.


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## oktar (29 June 2010)

Just pick a larger timefrime like 4h so you won't be in a need of watching your charts all the time. 

Or you can also pick a window with the highest volatility (for example one hour of scalping).


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## Andruha (5 August 2010)

oktar said:


> Just pick a larger timefrime like 4h so you won't be in a need of watching your charts all the time.
> 
> Or you can also pick a window with the highest volatility (for example one hour of scalping).




Second that. I trade of the 4 hours and have full time engineering job. The timeframe allows me to spend 10 - 20 mins during lunch time to have a look at the charts to see where the prices are at and may be set up some alarms at the levels I'm planning to enter. As soon as the alarm goes off I'm able to take position (only take a minute if you already planned the trade) since most of the time I'm in front of the computer. Make sure you switch off the sound if you know you got meetings all day - your colleagues will not be amused if you are gone and PC buzzing every 15 seconds because the price reached the level (happened to me once )

Trades off the 4 hours usually go for a few days which suits me as I can monitor once I get home and again spend some time during lunch at work

Hope this helps


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## Grep (5 August 2010)

I trade two FOREX systems, one off daily bars and another off weekly bars.
On the daily system I trade spot FX via CFD provider, but on the weekly system I trade futures contracts.

The weekly system is 100% mechanical and the daily system is somewhat more discretionary.The weekly system takes maybe half hour on the weekend and the daily about half hour each night.

You dont need to be glued to a screen for hours on end.


Grep


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## baby_swallow (5 August 2010)

- look to trade longer timeframes (ie. from several hours to overnight)
- learn to trade WITHOUT using charts.
- do the bulk of your market analysis during the weekend and
   during weekdays, all you have to do is monitor the price levels.
- sign in for a broker that provides smartphone trading.
   (you can trade while sitting on a toilet bowl - no kidding, I've done it, LOL).
- good luck


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## Timmy (5 August 2010)

Lots of suggestions to trade longer timeframes, but also consider learning to trade much shorter timeframes.  If you only have a couple of hours to sit in front of the screen have a think about trading for short moves.  Scalpers, for example, do this (I am not saying to become a scalper, it is just an example).

Also, consider futures in addition to considering FX.  

Hope this helps.


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## supermatt (5 August 2010)

it frustrates me when people say trade higher timeframes. it still isnt any easier and if your wrong you lose alot (yes i understand just lower your position size) and go down with a slow miserable sinking ship as it will probably hit ur WIDE stoploss in a matter of weeks. 

i hate having to wait forever to get a result, i think find what suits you and fit it into your schedule. short term trading doesnt mean you cant be good


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## choice1 (5 August 2010)

supermatt said:


> it frustrates me when people say trade higher timeframes. it still isnt any easier and if your wrong you lose alot (yes i understand just lower your position size) and go down with a slow miserable sinking ship as it will probably hit ur WIDE stoploss in a matter of weeks.
> 
> i hate having to wait forever to get a result, i think find what suits you and fit it into your schedule. short term trading doesnt mean you cant be good




Trading daily's and longer time frames teaches you patience and the ability to see no trades for the day and walk away. When you move down to the 1h or lower this is a great skill to have as the over trading will wipe an amateur’s account out. Also higher time frames tend to remove noise and let the larger trends play out. 

As you said you scale your position size so your maximum risk should be the same regardless of the timeframe, so no issues there.  Having a slow miserable sinking ship gives people time to learn as opposed to blowing your account out of the water...

To the OP:
I work 9-5 and trade the London and US session (so around 6pm till midnight) on the hourly charts. Very easy to manage if you know what levels + patterns you are looking for and only requires a couple of minutes every hour to check over your pairs. I have the option to trade at work but I tend to avoid the Asian sessions because of low liquidity and it tends to just drift into a slight retracement anyway.


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## supermatt (5 August 2010)

yes i agree with you but i think everyone takes it out of context and just uses the cliches on if you trade lower timeframes you will blow your account. Just because your trading a 5 min chart doesnt mean your betting 200 standard lots on 1 trade for example. Patience is fine but to make money in this business you actually have to trade and not just say im a "patient" trader and i still have my money (because you never trade in the first place)

you can still be patient and trade lower timeframes, its more just about having your emotions in check, if you have them in control i dont see any issues what so ever. By trading more you also have the chance for odds to work in your favor vs taking 4 trades a year and having 4 losers you could have 10 trades a month having 4 losers 6 winners for example. 

and i still dont believe if you trade daily or weekly charts you will be better off financially. Its more just a lifestyle thing, if you dont have the time then maybe its an option but no everyone is suited to this type of trading. 

my views have changed alot on this topic as i thought you needed to trade higher timeframes to be successful but ive realised you dont.

any way im getting off topic. ive said my bit, happy trading


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