Human Capital Invest Today in the Skills You’ll Need Tomorrow
When I started trading, I wanted to know when I would make money from it. Today I ask a different question: What skills am I building, even when the next trade tells me nothing about my progress?
Oliver Sparing and the flying wallets: an AI-created editorial image of his first encounter with the market.Image: TradeNeon
One of my guitar students was called Alex. One day he showed me how EUR 500 had become EUR 4,000 in the market within a few days. His explanation stayed with me: the stock market was like a wallet. You opened it, took out the money and closed it again. I was fascinated. And I wanted to know how he had done it.
So I opened a trading account. In one of my first trades, I bet on the DAX, risked too much and added to the position when the market moved against me. Very little of my first deposit was left. Alex could not hold on to his quick gain either. The question we should have asked was: Do we even understand the risk we are taking? Instead, I asked how I could recover my loss as fast as possible.
The question of quick profits
People starting to trade often ask, “When will I become profitable?” I understand why. Learning takes time and often money. But one winning trade does not answer that question, and neither does an expensive course. The US investor education site Investor.gov warns that day tradingIn day trading, positions are opened and closed within the same trading day. can lead to substantial losses in a short time. Money needed for living costs or an important reserve does not belong in an experiment with open-ended risk.
What investing in yourself really means
After that start, I looked for people I could learn from. At a free brokerA broker carries out market transactions on a client’s behalf. Private investors need a brokerage account to trade. seminar, the first thing I saw was advertising built around quick success and a Porsche. Later I met someone who took time to study company figures and charts. His expectations for possible annual results disappointed me then. I had seen much higher numbers online. I followed the bigger promises and mainly lost time. Looking back, I judged a method by its advertised return before I understood how it worked or whether it suited me.
That is the heart of human capital for me: knowledge, skills and judgement that I develop through learning and practice. The OECD defines human capital as the stock of knowledge, skills and other personal characteristics that help people be productive. A book, a seminar or a training programme can be a starting point. What I learn becomes a skill only when I test it, practise it, recognise mistakes and change my decisions accordingly.
Later I learned to analyse data on commodities, seasonality and futures markets. That suited my interest in precious metals. On a trading floor in London, I saw traders watching many markets at once across several screens. I learned something there about routines and decisions under pressure. I also realised that I did not want to copy that way of trading. That was progress too: I could better distinguish which approach fitted my time, interests and understanding of risk.
My path began in 2011. My swing and options trading became profitable for the first time in 2014; I learned on a trading floor in London in 2017, and reached profitability in day trading in 2018. Today, in 2026, I teach as TradeNeon’s Head Coach. This is my story, not a timetable for anyone else. Profitability is possible, but it takes skill, practice and an understanding of risk. You cannot buy it by enrolling in a course. Read more about my path at TradeNeon.
Today I do not judge progress by one day’s profit alone. Before a trade, I want to be able to say why I am entering, what would invalidate my idea and how much I could lose. Afterwards, I want to distinguish between three things: Was the idea wrong? Did the market behave differently from what I expected? Or did I abandon my own plan? These questions turn an outcome into an experience I can learn from. A gain in the account may be luck. A well-reasoned decision can be examined, even when the individual trade loses.
A trading education programme can provide direction and give you a place to discuss mistakes. It cannot guarantee a shortcut to profitability or a financial payback. Today I would look closely: What exactly is taught? Are losses, costs and limits explained openly? Can the person not only trade but also teach clearly? Germany’s consumer advice centre warns (in German) about trading coaching advertised with rapid, high gains. A good trader is not automatically a good teacher. And a good teacher cannot do the practice or make the decisions for you.
What remains of the first EUR 5,000
Years later, at a garden party, my girlfriend’s cousin asked me what he should do with the EUR 5,000 he had saved after finishing his apprenticeship. The question sounded familiar: How can I make as much as possible from it? Today I would divide it into two questions. How much of that money do I need as a reserve? And where do I want to invest for the long term—in assets, in skills, or in both?
For long-term investing, spreading risk matters. It is not just about the number of stocks in a portfolio, but also about the mix of assets and the amount that needs to stay accessible at short notice. A broadly diversified equity ETFAn ETF – Exchange Traded Fund – is an exchange-traded index fund that replicates the performance of the underlying index almost identically. can be one way to save regularly for the long term. It is not a safety guarantee, and a regular investment plan does not “force” anyone to stay disciplined. Germany’s consumer advice centre explains the benefits and risks of ETFs (in German) and puts diversification into context (in German). Precious metals, property, peer-to-peer loansP2P stands for “peer to peer” and in practice refers to the granting of loans between private individuals. and even wine can also be investment ideas; variety alone does not make a choice suitable. You still need to understand each asset’s costs, access and risks.
Investing in knowledge calls for the same care. Books, courses, seminars and workshops can help me explore a subject. I cannot know in advance whether the expense will pay off financially. What I can influence is what I do with it: Do I ask better questions after the course? Can I explain a risk before taking it? Do I follow my rules when the market puts me under pressure? And can I tell when a strategy or a provider does not suit me?
I did not ask these questions from the start. Even after I had found a method, I let someone talk me away from my plan during a silver trade and took a painful loss. I already had technical knowledge. What I lacked in that moment was the ability to stay with a reasoned decision under pressure. That is why a trader’s human capital includes more than market knowledge. It also includes risk awareness, self-observation and a willingness to examine mistakes honestly.
Those skills can matter beyond the next trade. Learning to question promises, limit risk and examine your own way of working can help you make more deliberate decisions outside the market too. That does not translate into a particular account balance. For me, it is still a lasting value: I do not have to control every outcome to take responsibility for how I learn.
