UAE residents dual-income: They hold day jobs during the day and engage in trading activities in the evening
In the world of finance, some individuals have found a unique way to supplement their income – part-time trading in the US markets. This approach, however, presents several challenges that must be carefully navigated.
Ahmed Al Mansoori, an Emirati resident in Abu Dhabi, is one such individual. He started trading during the pandemic, learning from YouTube videos and paper-trading for four months before diving into the market. Al Mansoori trades mostly from 5.20pm UAE time when the US markets open, focusing on tech and growth stocks. He relies on AI tools for sentiment analysis and real-time news alerts. Despite his success, Al Mansoori does not want to depend on the market to pay rent and still needs the stability of his government day job.
Ravi Patel, who works in logistics in Dubai, is another part-time trader who has built wealth through trading. He learned technical analysis and structures his trading time to be ready for the first hour of the US market. Ravi trades until midnight on some days and journals every trade. He earns more from trading than his annual salary, but still keeps his job due to market volatility.
Balancing a full-time job with part-time trading is no easy feat. Key challenges include time constraints and scheduling conflicts, mental and emotional split, risk and capital management, learning curve and continuous study, emotional toll and stress management, technology and access to real-time tools, lifestyle and burnout risk.
Time Constraints and Scheduling Conflicts: Full-time work limits the hours available for trading activities such as market research, order execution, and monitoring positions. US stock markets operate mainly from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, which may overlap with standard working hours. Part-time traders often must trade outside of regular hours—early mornings, lunch breaks, or evenings—which can strain time management and personal life.
Mental and Emotional Split: Constantly dividing attention between a demanding job and market decisions leads to stress and distraction. This mental split can hinder decision-making quality and increase the risk of impulsive trades. Maintaining discipline while managing real job responsibilities is taxing.
Risk and Capital Management: Part-time traders must operate with strict risk controls, such as tight stop-losses and limited capital allocation per trade, because they cannot monitor markets continuously. One bad trade can wipe out a week’s profits, so protecting downside risk is crucial.
Learning Curve and Continuous Study: Effective trading demands ongoing education and market analysis, which is hard to maintain consistently with a full-time job. Carving out dedicated study time (even as little as 30-60 minutes daily) is essential but challenging.
Emotional Toll and Stress Management: Fluctuations in market value can cause anxiety, especially when job security and income stability depend primarily on the full-time job. Balancing this dual financial pressure requires emotional resilience and stress management strategies.
Technology and Access to Real-Time Tools: Part-time traders rely heavily on mobile platforms and real-time alerts to make timely decisions remotely. Efficient use of technology thus becomes a necessity to overcome presence constraints at a desk during market hours.
Lifestyle and Burnout Risk: Balancing two demanding roles risks personal time depletion, reduced rest, and burnout. Without proper boundary setting, both the full-time job and trading performance can suffer.
Harsh Rastogi, an entrepreneur and marketing consultant, has been trading for 24 years and also balances it with a full-time job. He finds it challenging to balance trading with a full-time job as his mind is often split between the two. Rastogi manages both his full-time job and trading by acting on the best trades instead of chasing every opportunity.
In summary, the main challenges are effective time management, maintaining mental focus and emotional discipline, proactive risk control, and consistent market education. Many part-time traders mitigate these issues by selecting trading styles compatible with their schedules, such as swing or position trading, using technology to stay connected to markets, and keeping trading a secondary, carefully managed activity rather than a primary income source.
- Ahmed Al Mansoori, despite his success in part-time trading, acknowledges the importance of his day job for financial stability due to market volatility.
- Balancing a full-time job with part-time trading presents challenges such as time constraints, mental and emotional split, risk and capital management, learning curve, emotional toll, technology access, lifestyle, and burnout risk.
- Ravi Patel manages both his logistics job and trading by focusing on technical analysis and carving out dedicated study time, while acknowledging the toll market volatility takes on income stability.
- Harsh Rastogi, with 24 years of trading experience and a full-time job, finds it challenging to balance his attention between the two, but manages by acting on the best trades instead of chasing every opportunity.
