Say if you are good at stock exchange, how much can you profit annually if $1000 is your investment base ?

Okay, I'm a complete novice in this field; I've been trying all sort of novel Internet methods to make money, nothing worked AT ALL. So I finally called it a game (where I lost) and am now determined to do something more serious so I suddenly thought: why wouldn't I be involved in the stock market from before? I know my knowledge is ZERO right now but I don't mind learning even if it takes years. But I'm just wondering if it is plausible to start with a thousand dollars or maybe less on stock exchange and gain something not too bad by the end of the year (my friend said he chunked in $8,000 and got back $20,000 in the same year). I'd appreciate it if you can help me with this issue, just to give a taste of what it'd be like to do stock exchange. I understand some of the risks that I might lose everything if the company whose shares I hold goes bankrupt or other investors decide it's not worth any more. But what are other things I should be aware before deciding to jump in ?
Thank you.

Hey, thank you guys, at least I know what I should and shouldn't do at this point (the idea of college-professional training is definitely helpful but I am actually doing my BS in Chemistry right now, which does not spare me much time for other interests). But thanks

I think it is possible to make 150 per cent profit in a year in the stock market.

However, starting with low capital, and virtually no knowledge of investing makes it very very very unlikely. A lot of very smart people have been doing it all their lives. Some do very well indeed. A few make a reasonable living. Some lose their shirts.

I would not even try investing $1000 in the market. Rather spend the cash in taking a few courses in economics and investing so you understand what the web-sites and financial pages are talking about. A bit of mathematics would not hurt either. A few tax courses can allow you to find tax efficient investments. Too much like work?? I think you will vastly improve your odds by understanding something of the workings of the market.

There may be some magic formula but most successful investors have worked and studies hard to make it.

If you're good beginner at stock exchange, expect to get at least 20% profit per YEAR. It really depends on the market too. Once you understand stock exchange patterns and finance more , you might be able to start seeing potential companies that can multiply your money fast.

Warren Buffett says that before you buy a stock you should be able to write a book about the company.

In other words, you may know enough to buy a stock every 2 years or so and those 2 years will be filled with research.

You need to forget about striking it rich. Investing is for the long term and your money slowly grows over time.

This is how to properly invest:

http://www.saveyournestegg.com/diy.html

You've been a loser...don't keep being a loser.

It really depends on the market. I invest in emergin market. Last year I earn almost 100%. You definetely need to learn much more. For beginner, I think it is best to use the technical analysis, because it is easy. Technical is usually used for short. You need to learn also fundamental analysis (choosing which stock is good). By combining those two strategy you can have "when might the good stock rise"

In order to make huge returns, that means you have to take huge risks. If you buy a stock that you expect to go up 100% per year, there is a good chance it could go bankrupt quite easily too. It may happen the first time and you'll lose everything, it may not.

In my opinion, $1,000 is not enough to get started into the stock market. I'd start with about the same as your friend, $8,000 - $12,000.

Many experts say that if you are outperforming the market by too much, you are likely doing something wrong.... either not diversifying, taking massive risks, etc.

The average investor, over all their years of investing from now until you retire, will generally make 10-12% per year. That doesn't mean 12% EVERY year, it means some years you could make 50%, other years you could LOSE 20%.