There are many different types of traders out there, before entering the market for yourself, you may want to consider what type of trading you would be comfortable with. The different types of traders are:

1. Trend Traders

These traders attempt to buy a stock that is going up and hold onto it until it starts going down. The best part about this strategy is that it takes a relatively short amount of time to manage it. Trend traders could be in a stock for days or years, depending on how well the stock is doing, the idea here is, why kill a good thing.

2. Swing and Day Traders

Both swing and day traders attempt to catch the short movements in the stock market. It involves being much more active in your account and having to pay closer attention to patterns and other short term indicators. The great thing about these strategies is that you make a profit or loss fast and it can add up over time.

3. Option Trading

Similar to swing trading option trading attempts to make money from the stock market in a short term time period. The only difference is that with options you have the potential to explode your profits. A relatively small move in the price of the stock could mean a huge move in the option.

4. Option Seller

Option sellers on the other hand attempt to sell options that they believe will become worthless over time. This way they collect the premium up front and when the option hopefully expires in the future they are in no obligation to do anything. Option sellers do not attempt to hit the huge home runs, but try to make a good return over time by compound interest. These are the most popular ways to trade stocks. All traders will have to find out which strategy fits them the best.