I'm a pretty ordinary trader, but here's some thoughts from me anyway:
1. I agree with webral, 3% per day sounds easy but it's not. Also as a trader, you need to think like a business owner, not a salary earner. So there will be times when you make squillions and times when you can't make a cent. And don't try to make trades when you don't see any opportunities, that it a good way to lose money. If there's nothing happening, sit back and watch and wait. If there's something happening, make the most of it.
2. Your savings are admirable, particularly for someone of your age but you will find it hard to trade and earn a living on $10k. However you can make a start on that, learn some skills, get some scars (we all do, don't be afraid of them, just learn from them), build up some capital (hopefully) and keep your weekend job.
3. Trading and investing are 2 different mindsets. You can do both, but you need to apply different rules. One of the bits that I found concerning from what you wrote was "hold out the one taking a loss until it recovers". As a trader have a stop loss and sell if it gets hit. You need to be disciplined and unforgiving with your stocks. If they don't perform as expected, they're out. That doesn't mean that if your stock goes down, sell. You don't want your stop to be a tick below what you bought it at, but you do want one somewhere at a point which you determined through logic or experience.
4. Probably the most important point is ALWAYS have a plan. Know why you bought the stock and when you're going to sell it. And of course, ALWAYS stick to your plan.
5. Like many people have said, at the moment the market is a dream. Don't kid yourself that if you can make money now, you will always be able to make money. But it is a good time to get a start.
6. Try different trading styles. There is more than one way to trade. Personally, I much prefer to make 1x 20% trade rather than 10x 3% trades which I think is what michael means by being patient and not over trading. You might find that you like different styles. For example, you might use $5k for daytrading and don't hold anything that you've bought with that $5k for longer than a day or two. You might want to use the other $5k for buying a stock which has just broken through resistance and is starting an uptrend and then hold it for as long as it takes until it starts to look toppy. ie momentum trading vs chart/trend trading
7. Read lots, research lots, there's lots of trading info online.
8. Nice of hummms to put that list together. Worth a look but personally I find Padley enormously depressing. However, he is a good balance to all the optimists that I love!
9. Nearly forgot, I don't like this either "If I lose all my money, oh well, I still have my weekend job". That sounds like a punter not a trader. I'm sure you didn't really mean to sound so philosophical about losing everything, but go into trading taking it very seriously. You'll learn more and be tougher on yourself if you do. And if you do lose, I think you'll learn more than if you just punt.
10. Keep learning. I've heard it takes 10 years to really develop a skill. I know that I'm still learning and improving and probably always will be.
Largely I agree with everything the posters have written above - have a plan, cut your losses, let your winners run, keep a diary & assess your trades, soak up everything you can get your hands on regarding both stocks and trading, try charts, fundmentals, day trading, short term trading and find your own style.
