A job as a day trader is a great way to make money in a very lucrative field. It is not, though, an easy way to get rich quick. You will need to put effort and work into it.

Day trading stocks and commodities is a great job and a quite profitable one as well. It requires certain traits for success, and certain habits will need to be internalized.

A good time sense is the first important habit. Day trading is not the job for people who drag themselves out of bed in the late morning and can’t think before their second, or third, cup of coffee. Day traders must be up and alert before the opening bell. In New York, trading opens at 9 AM. This is 6 AM in California, and a very early 5 AM in Alaska and Hawaii. The best time to plot trading strategy for a given day is before the opening bell ? you’ll need to not only be awake by then, but alert and thinking on your feet.

A second necessary habit is the ability to make good decisions with quick quantitative analysis skills. While hunches can make and lose money in day trading, you’ll need to read, synthesize, and understand numbers without having to ponder them at length. You’ll need to be able to determine financial trends at a glance, and act quickly with that information.

If you’re thinking that you’ll need to be a mathematician to get in the game, don’t worry. Even if you weren’t ever that great at math, you can learn certain quantitative skills that will quickly become second nature with just a little practice.

A third habit that breeds success for day traders is patience and the ability to make keen observations. These habits must be combined with an excellent short-term memory. Patience can be tough to muster when you face the disappointment of missing a stock at its peak, or when you lose money because your low never came to pass. Try not to let these challenges drag you down. Also be sure to keep your cool when you score a winning trade.

Dedicated research is the fourth important habit for day traders. While you won’t need to perform in depth analysis of accounting statements as in long term conventional investing, you will need to analyze the constant inflow and outflow of data to have a good knowledge base for making judgments on the fly. On the other hand, don’t get so caught up in research that you lose the ability to think and act quickly.

Remember that you don’t have to do this analytical research on your own. High ranking day traders use a variety of tools and have different research and data services at the ready.

If you think you are ready for a career change and that day trading may appeal to you, you’ll need to start by creating a support team. At a minimum, you’ll need a broker, and a few investors willing to help you level the market. Realize ahead of time that it’s hard work, and will require savvy, dedication, and focus.

If, after reading the skills listed above, you think you have what it takes to be a successful day trader, day trading may offer you a challenging and fun way to make a great living. It’s a job that can be a ton of fun, and can provide tremendous riches ? in more ways than one.