Good question. I have been "day trading" for over a year now (with options and stocks) and have done phenomenally well. It may have been the overall market conditions and a few unheard of rallies during the 2nd half of the year (FSLR, MA, MON, PCLN, POT, DE, BIDU, PTR), but I think a performance based job is the only way to go. That way if you have the skills and discipline to follow a sophisticated trading style, you are rewarded for your dedication to good research, your discipline as well as avoiding the hassles of a normal 9-5 job. The only real "expenses" I have are subscriptions to IBD, WSJ, Portfolio magazine, Forbes and Businessweek. The rest of it is all profit. Amazing what online trading can do. I highly suggest the optionsxpress dragon and screener features and think everyone who has a strong interest in the market should quit the 9-5 and trade for a living... that or work for a hedgefund where you are rewarded for your efforts unlike many other positions in finance.

Basically, to answer your question I would say it is entirely dependent on how much capital you have / how much you are willing to risk. If you are adverse to risk, daytrading shouldn't be your career. If you are self-motivated and have in excess of 20k to invest, I would expect you could make approximately $1,000 a week on average. Realistically, I would say average returns are 5% weekly if you are actively engaged in the market and do good research, however, there have been weeks (such as earnings announcement weeks on FSLR, DE, MA) that returns have been close to 100%. Speaking of that, NRG reports earnings on Thursday and historically has posted an average of 10% earnings jump, 15% in the most recent quarter. I am long 50 Mar 37.50 Calls (option chain: .NRGCU ). Earnings should beat, look for a rally --then take the money and run. =). Trade safely, trade profitably. -Jim