Comparing Full Time Trading and Full Time Job

2 nov.

Hey traders,

In this educational article, we will compare full-time trading and full-time job.

THE MONEY

And I guess, the essential thing to start with is the money aspect.

Full-time job guarantees you a stable month-to-month income with the pre-arranged bonuses.

In contrast, trading does not give any guarantees. You never know whether a current trading month will be profitable or not.



Of course, the average annual earnings of a full-time trader are substantially higher than of an employee. However, you should realize the fact that some trading periods will be negative, some will be around breakeven and only some will be highly profitable.

Sick-leave & Vacations

In addition to a stable salary, a full time job usually offers a paid sick-leave and vacation, while being a full-time trader, no one will compensate you your leaves making the position of an employee much more sustainable.



Office

Being an employee, you usually work in an office with the fixed working hours. Taking into consideration that people often spend a quite substantial time to get to work and then to get home, a full-time job typically consumes at least 10 hours, not leaving a free-time.

In contrast, full-time traders are very flexible with their schedule.
Even though they often stick to a fixed working plan, they spend around 3-4 hours a day on trading. All the rest is their free time, that they can spend on whatever they want.



Moreover, traders are not tied to their working place. They can work from everywhere, the only thing that they need is their computer and internet connection.

No Boss

Traders normally work alone. The main advantage of that is the absence of a subordination. You are your own boss and you follow your own rules.



However, such a high level of freedom breeds a high level of personal responsibility. We should admit the fact that not every person can organize himself.

In addition to that, working alone implies that you are not building social connections and you don't have colleagues.

Being an employee, you are the part of a hierarchy. You usually have some subordinates, but you have a supervisor as well.
You are constantly among people, you build relationships, and you are never alone.

There is a common bias among people, that full time trading beats full time job in all the aspects. In these article, I was trying to show you that it is not the fact.

Both have important advantages and disadvantages. It is very important for you to completely realize them before you decide whether you want to trade full time or have a full time job.