Entering the Forex Industry as Profession

Many people think that Forex brokers are just looking for graduates and people of high academic ability and while many do, there are many who are simply looking for people who are motivated and hungry for success. My first job in Forex was not done through the traditional way of looking for vacancies in newspapers are via a recruitment consultant.  I simply picked up the phone and asked for a job direct, on my second call I was granted a job interview!

When I was asked, what I knew about Forex trading strategies, placing orders, fundamental and technical analysis, I had to reply I knew nothing because I didn't. When asked why, did I think I would make a good FX broker, I replied I was willing to learn and wanted to work hard and make something of my life and the guy interviewing me, was simply impressed at my attitude. I got the job and started as a salesman, raising new accounts then, became the top salesman in the company and then moved on, to become a sales manager, then head of a dealing desk and Finally, I had enough money to open my own FX company.

When I recruited people, I didn't look for high academic achievement or how clever someone was but how hungry they were for success.

So can you get a job in the same way I did?

I think so but unlike me, I would actually prove that you have got some Forex education on how and why pairs move, technical and fundamentals analysis and if possible, get yourself a track record by opening your own account. Keep in mind, the Forex industry is one where results count above all else. Results in terms of opening new accounts as a salesman or by showing you have the competence to trade signals in the right manner.

Trade Forex Full Time from Home

The dream of many people is to say goodbye to working for someone else and simply set themselves up as a trader from home. These people want to trade currency markets ONLY and make their income from the markets – so can anyone do this?

The answer is yes because as we have looked at elsewhere on this site – learning the basics of currency trading success is easy and anyone can quickly learn to make long term profits but you do need enough money to start and its not a few thousand dollars in most cases.

Lets assume you earn $50,000 dollars in your present profession, how big should your trading account be to generate your present income annually?

In my experience, the top traders in the world make between 50 – 100% per annum so if we take the lower percentage this would mean an account of $100,000 minimum. My own view is you would need more than this because you will have variable income month to month.

Forget the nonsence you read about making 10% per week or 10% per month REGULARLY its not possible profits and losses even out over the long term but in the short term, you will have periods of drawdown and you need to be prepared for them. Sure you can average 10% per month over a two year holding period but it won't be 10% each and every week or month so how much money do you need in reserve to ride these periods out?

If you assume a six month period of losses or marginal profits, you would need enough money in reserve so you can pay bills etc, when you face these flat or draw down months on your trading signals. All traders in Forex will have a period where they lose month after month but if your trading Forex for a living from home – you need to have money in reserve to pay bills and also, make sure you don't try to hard to make money in these periods. Always keep in mind, if you need to make money trading currencies, you won't because the pressure is to much and discipline will break down.

So on our above example, you would need at least $50,000 as a reserve. So for your trading account and a reserve account, for a draw down period, the amount would be $150,000.

Trade Forex Full Time Avoid the Scams

There are plenty of people who tell you, that you can trade an amount of just a few thousand dollars, up to a hundred thousand quickly but don't believe them its a lie.

The Forex industry is full of scammers who will tell you that there is no work required you can follow a Forex robot, Expert Advisor or signal service and make huge gains on a regular basis but this is not true – profits and losses are randomly distributed so this is not possible. Its like saying a salesman selling cars is going to always sell the same amount every month – he won't and its the same in Forex trading.

If you have a small account of say $5 – 10,000, you will need to get it up to a bigger amount which will then allow you, to trade Forex full time from home and replace your income from your current job. You can use our rule of thumb, calculation from earlier to work out how much you need.

So if you have got a small account, you will have to trade your system part time until you have built up enough capital in your trading account to start trading Forex for a living. The good news is compound growth, if you have a successful trading strategy, will soon build your equity to the amount you want which will also build your confidence to allow you, to make the big step to - become a currency trader from home and live the dream.

Final Words

If you want to be a full time professional Forex trader at a company, you can try the route I took and see if it works and while you might not get a job straight away, if you persevere I am sure you will succeed.

On trading Forex full time from home, it can be done as we have just seen but don't think its as easy as some people will tell you or that you can do it with just a small trading account – you can't. Becoming a successful Forex trader from home though is possible, because as we have just seen and if you do it, you will find it one of the most rewarding professions of all in terms of the amount of work you need to do, to generate a substantial income.