Foreign currency trading, or forex, is no longer the domain of professionals. That all started changing in the mid-nineties, especially with the advent of the Internet. Now, many part-time traders are finding success in forex. Today, anybody with the guts, the gumption, and of course loads of discipline, can decide to start dealing in retail forex – dealing in the exchange rate of currencies of various nations across the world.

If you still have a 9 to 5 job, becoming a professional trader in your spare time can be quite a challenge. Pursuing the goal of quitting your day job to become a profitable trader often seems like an unrealistic task for most people. But there are certain steps that can help you improve your trading while working 9-5 and finding time for hobbies and your family at the same time. Most people can’t and won’t achieve the status of a full-time trader in the early part of their career. So, a great goal is to focus on becoming a part-time trader and earning a nice profit while still maintaining your day-to-day income.

Being a part-time trader means you only have a limited time to work with every day. If you can only allow one hour of trading, opportunities are inevitably limited. This one hour might come at a time when nothing really happens in the market. For this reason, you need to iron out your schedule first before picking a trading style. If your time is severely limited, consider swing and position trades or even scalping. When volatility is low, it’s tempting to do something else completely unrelated to trading. But since your time is already limited, you should use every minute to hone your skills. As with anything, you get better with practice.

Since forex is a 24-hour market, trading can be done part-time on top of a full-time job. However, it is also important to be psychologically prepared for this trading approach as it requires some lifestyle considerations and adjustments. Without making these, you might be setting yourself up to fail and letting the frustration take its toll on your mindset. First, consider how much time you can spend trading. If you have a full-time job that has a regular schedule, then you can set your trading hours before or after work. It is not recommended that you trade while you are working since this will lead to concentration issues, aside from being unethical and irresponsible.

The forex market is one of the most desirable markets to trade because it is a 24-hour market that is constantly in flux, providing ample opportunities to make profits at any point in the day. Because of these features, the forex market lends itself to part-time traders. However, despite these favorable characteristics, the forex market is very volatile, which makes it risky for all traders, particularly the part-time trader, if the proper strategy is not implemented.