I would LOVE to be a day trader. It’s really appealing to me. I spend most of my days at a computer. I have a Master’s in computer science and a strong background in advanced math. I have a deep understanding of the stock market. I love charts and graphs. I like learning about the market. I like making money. It’s my dream job.

But here’s the problem. It’s nonsense. There’s this pop culture image of the genius day trader making big money because he’s got all the technology at his finger tips and makes these great trades. I see it all the time on social media. They dress fancy, talk fancy, have fancy technology, and are usually willing to teach you for sometimes outrageous fees. But it’s all nonsense.

Study after study after study that look at different ways to beat the market, and all come back the same. Almost no one can do it, and those who do are more likely lucky than good. EVEN IF, you heard of a guy who can do it, or saw someone do it on social media, it’s nonsense. They’re most likely lying, or touting their wins and being silent about their losses. Or, they simply got lucky in the short term. Since randomness is at play, we EXPECT some traders to dramatically beat the market… for a while. But over time, the law of large numbers reigns supreme, and the short term luck runs out.

I’ve met a lot of people in my day, I have yet to meet someone who legitimately makes a living day trading full time. I’ve DEFINITELY never met someone who has been doing it for 5 or 10 years.

Some in the comments are gonna get big mad about this. They want it to be true so bad. They had a taste of some wins and they’re so close to cracking the code. But don’t let your greed and excitement take over the rational part of your brain. It doesn’t work.

The stock market is a wealth generation machine. But not by gambling on it. Wealth is built by buying and holding and letting the profits and the growth of the companies contained within come to you over time.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy