This is one of those proud papa bear moments. Recently, we reached out to a bunch of our students that learned how to trade through our website here at www.Trade.education and asked them about their experience so far trading.

One of them got back to us and told us her story. Her name is Nicole. She recently quit her job as a lunch lady to trade stocks full-time and so far she has been very successful.

Here is our quick interview with Nicole:

1. When did you first get started in trading stocks?

I always have had an investment portfolio and traded in and out of stocks for investment reasons. I wanted to be a more active trader and was always curious how active traders do it. I found www.Trade.education and signed up and started learning how to trade in March of 2014.

2. How has Trade.education helped you?

This site has giving me a rock solid foundation on trading stocks. I often go back to watch some of the courses again. I would recommend anyone to this site for its value in trader’s education.

3. What was your account size when you started?

I started with $28,000 and the first two months I really didn’t make much. I was basically even the first few months, I had both losses and gains and made sure I stuck to my rules to avoid huge losses. The third month is when things really started to click for me. And month after month I become more profitable and grew my account gradually and now have over $70,000.

4. What were you doing before this?

I used to work at the local high school as a lunch lady.

5. What is your trading style?

I mostly trades stocks to the long side that are breaking out with increased volume and are trending.

6. What characteristics do you look for when you select stocks to trade?
I am looking for specific set ups according to my trading plan. I do not believe that you can trade well without a written plan. My plan details the opportunities I am looking for. If a stock exhibits these characteristics, I will trade it according to the plan

7. What about indicators? Are there any specific technical indicators you prefer?
Price is the best indicator. I look at prior turning points (support and resistance) and candle shape and formations.  I have a few exponential moving averages I use for identifying short-term and medium-term trends.

8. What timeframe do you use?
Intraday, I use a 15 minute chart for planning the trades. I always look at larger timeframes for perspective on the trend and sometimes switch to a 1 minute & 5 minute chart to time my entry into the trade. For swing and investing, I lengthen my time frames.

9. On average, how long do you hold a position?
My day trades last less than an hour. I am not necessarily bound by time. I watch the trade and exit at targets or stops. I close all day trades before leaving the computer for the day or at market close. I also like swing trades for two to three days

10. How many trades do you make, on average, per week?
On a heavy trading day, I may make four trades. I strive for taking fewer trades with better quality. This means fighting impulsive behavior and screening for the right opportunities. I only trade four days a week on average, so I would say 10 trades a week.

11. How long did it take before you considered yourself successful? And how would you define success?

I still think I have a long ways to go to consider myself successful. Yes, I have 4 consecutive profitable months, however I think I will consider myself more successful when I’m profitable year after year.