5 Tips for Day Trading in Graduate School

Is It Possible to Succeed at Day Trading While in Graduate School?

Hey folks, Andrew Bloom, here! If you’re looking to learn day trading while in graduate school, you’re not alone! It’s completely possible to learn how to day trade while also pursuing academia or professional education.

Me, I’m a Forex day trader who uses only mechanical strategies. My main style of trading is scalping.

I am also currently working on a Ph.D. in Business with a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

Here’s a little backstory

I first started investing in stocks via Robinhood when I was pursuing a master’s degree.

The summer after I graduated with my master’s in nonprofit management and before I started doctoral studies, I started teaching myself how to day trade. Ever since then, I’ve been day trading through the entirety of my Ph.D. education.

Now, to give you some context, I am taking the minimum number of course credits to maintain my status as a full-time student while also giving myself enough time to juggle other priorities.

Therefore, I make a point to trade in a way that allows me to spend less than 15 hours a week in front of the charts.

Thus, I only take a small number of scalping trades with a mechanical strategy that tells me exactly what I need to do and when.

That way, I can just show up and focus on following my rules and then close out early enough in the day to be able to meet all the requirements of my courses, research, and the needs of my business, as well.

It’s completely possible to day trade while you’re also pursuing a graduate degree so long as you tweak your trading style, your schedule, and your expectations to the rigor of both day trading and your academic lifestyle.

I want to share with you five things to keep in mind as you seek to make money from day trading while also working on a graduate degree. 

Let’s dive in!

1) Adapt your trading sessions to the time you can commit to sitting in front of the charts 

First, as you probably already know, when you’re in a demanding graduate program, time is worth gold.

You are often expected to juggle hours of reading research papers and textbooks in addition to showing up to class. Academia is notorious for expecting students to “fake it” because in all reality the amount of work assigned is never practical or realistic.  

day trading in grad school

And because school and life cost money, you probably are working, as well, alongside any research or academic internships required of you to complete the program.

Therefore, what time you do have to commit to day trading will likely be limited. It’s probably not a good idea to expect to use a strategy that requires six or more hours a day of watching the charts.

Personally, I like to use a scalping strategy that’s limited to about three or four hours of chart time each day that I can commit to doing first thing in the morning.

Make an audit of how much time your academic work and personal life require and see how many waking hours you have left to commit to day trading. Then, when choosing or creating a strategy to trade, keep your time limitations in mind.

2) Keep a Beginner’s Mind

By the time you’ve reached graduate school, you might be feeling some pride in your ability to learn and achieve. Some of you watching this might have aced your entire way through school.

So when it comes to the early months of day trading when you’re making mistakes left and right and it’s costing you money, it can feel painful to realize that you can’t perfect your trading experience.

I’m telling you this from a place of empathy because perfectionism is something I’ve struggled with off and on throughout my own life. It’s crucial to accept the losses that come with day trading and to give yourself plenty of self-love as you stumble along and gain your bearings.

In this way, remember to keep a beginner’s mind, kind of like how it might have felt to take your first college introduction course on the subject that you are now studying in greater depth at this point in your career.

Remember that curiosity, passion, and willingness to keep learning will help keep you confident enough to persist. Maintain that kind of mindset when you’re discovering how to trade the markets and overall, stay humble.

WANT MORE TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAINTAINING AN OBSERVANT, BEGINNER’S MIND IN FRONT OF THE CHARTS? Be sure to read The Seven Habits of Successful Day Traders: A Quick Guide to Profitable Day Trading PracticesThe Seven Habits of Successful Day Traders Andrew Bloom

3) Take breaks and days off from trading as it supports the demands of your program

Day trading for profit requires discipline and discipline requires a strong mental fortitude.

If certain periods of your studies require extra time and demand on your energy, such as with finals week or when writing a thesis or dissertation, consider taking a break from the charts during the days or weeks that require your full focus on school.

I know it’s not ideal to miss out on opportunities in the markets, but you’re shortchanging both your ability to make responsible decisions in your trading and your ability to perform your duties as a student if you force yourself to trade when you’re overworked or feeling more stress than usual.

Another tweak you can consider is changing your trading frequency, such as looking to swing trade during these more intense periods of the academic calendar.

In my experience, I’ve actually found taking breaks from the market to be relieving and even a form of recovery as it releases the pressure to trade and allows me to sleep in a bit. 

4) Treat learning how to day trade with the same diligence and effort that you apply to your studies

At this point in your academic career, you’re probably aware of what helps you learn best. Whether that means utilizing video resources over books or making flashcards for terms you’re unfamiliar with, you can apply this self-awareness of your learning style to studying trading skills and markets.

For me, I like book learning a lot because I have an affinity with the quiet thinking that comes with reading. I can go as slow or as fast as I want when I read a book and I can take notes and review the material easily.Day trading in graduate school

Speaking of taking notes, even if you’re only watching videos, I highly recommend designating a notebook for trading notes and keeping it with you while you’re watching.

We are more likely to learn and remember that which we regularly reflect on and review, so having notes you can go over regularly will help you remember the key tactics and rules to succeed at trading.

5) Have realistic expectations about what you can afford to trade and how long it may take to achieve profitability

If you’re new to day trading and Forex, don’t expect to see much of a return during your first year of trading.

This is not a get-rich-overnight kind of endeavor and it’s not a steady paycheck, either.

Trade only what you can afford to lose, so if you need your cash to pay for textbooks, rent, or other necessities, put your money towards those things instead of your trading account.

Be willing to stick with this over the long haul, as you will need time to get used to day trading and with building your trading discipline.

Remember how long it took to get through your undergraduate courses to meet the requirement of your major or to study for the GRE? Succeeding at trading will take time and effort, too, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable process so long as you do everything you can to improve each week you return to the markets.

That concludes our quick list of tips for day trading while also pursuing graduate school.

Neither trading nor graduate school is necessarily easy but it’s not impossible to succeed at both either! I wish you the best of strength and luck, and I’ll see you in the markets!

WANT MORE TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAINTAINING AN OBSERVANT, BEGINNER’S MIND IN FRONT OF THE CHARTS? Be sure to read The Seven Habits of Successful Day Traders: A Quick Guide to Profitable Day Trading Practices