I doubt it. There’s an interesting letter from a reader published at TraderFeed. Two things popped up for me, which I disagree with.

TraderFeed: A Trading Performance Insight From Ziad Masri

I remember early last year I’d sit there and watch the market for hours as it moved in a 6 point range with nothing happening. Now it’s almost non-stop action. The effect of all this extra exposure has been accelerated learning.

and he goes on to say:

And from that point of view, there’s never been a better time to learn and grow as a day trader… this market, far from just offering ample opportunity, is offering a crash graduate course.

Well sure there are opportunities to learn, but learn what? I’ve seen many times in the past people trading something that moved like crazy and then when those conditions were gone they crashed and burned. The key point being that abnormal market conditions teach us.. about abnormal market conditions.

I certainly don’t wish this experience on Ziad who sounds like a nice guy. But a reality check is in order. People learning to trade now in this market environment will have, in my opinion, quite a hard time when volatility goes back to normal, which is where it spends the majority of its time, for months and years. This post also reminded me that I’ve heard from a number of friends recently who got really interested in trading all of a sudden, the scoup? They managed to catch and ride a couple of shorts in the financials and now they feel like market geniuses. Profits are nice, but starting out in this environment and with outsized winners means their learning curve is only just beginning. Whether they make it or not and adapt and thrive in more “normal” stock market conditions, only time will tell.

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Tags: learning to trade, stock market conditions, trader development, trading