I am a finance major and economics minor and I have recently began very interested in the idea of being a trader. Can anyone give me any advice, insight, reccomendations, or any bit of experience they may have trading?

Trading can be an extremely lucrative career. However, it is very unstable. You may make enough for a year in one month, or lose it. Trading is not for everyone, as most people like to have the comfort of a reliable, monthly paycheck. Lucrative as it may be, trading requires long, long workdays and seven day work weeks. Many people enjoy the adrenaline, though.

Thought i wanted to go the same route as well. I have a BA in Economics with concentration in finance. Make a long story short, I decided that life was not for me. I wanted a job that ended when i clocked out not a job that came home with me. There is still money to be made in the field but it is a lot harder with current economic conditions especially with the way financial advising companies want you to gain clients. Basically they sit you in a chair and say, "now call people and convince them to give you money to invest, good luck!" Maybe when stocks were in the green and people had jobs but lets get real, todays world is not the same and consumer habits have significantly changed.

It's a very tough career field. Only the best and brightest make it "Big". It's kind of like selling real estate. It takes lots of time, you have to be talented, and get the right breaks. In today's market the competition is tough and many people are not cut out for the lifestyle.

But for the right individual and the right breaks you can do pretty good. You might also want to look at Investment Companies that specialize in buying and selling companies and other types of opportunities.

PMMM

Well going for trading on your own is indeed risky at the start but could turn out to be a very profitable proposition for you. You must not get disheartened by the initial hiccups and hang in their for long term.

It's mostly psychology and reading the market.

I'd say: find some good books on daytrading on Amazon and watch, watch, watch the market. You will eventually develop a feel for how stocks trade which will help you anticipate short term moves correctly.