Woman earns thousands as stock trader after dropping out of college (2024)

A young woman who had to drop out of college to help support her familyduring the pandemic has found financial success as a day trader — and says that'the stock market completely changed my life in a year.'

Kiersten Crum, 20,from Lawrence, Kansas, was attending the University of Kansas School of Business in 2020 when COVID-19 swept the US, sending her back home to stay with her family — who were suddenly struggling to pay bills after her dad's business was shut down amid the pandemic.

Kiersten began working two jobs, one at a grocery store and one a bar, but she was soon making more money than she expected by patiently playing the stock market.

'A year ago, COVID hit, [and I] had to move out of school,' she explained in a viral TikTok video.

'My dad's business had just been shut down because of it, so I started working at a grocery store. I was then responsible for family bills, so I started working another job at night,' she went on.

Kiersten would start her day at 5 a.m. as agrocery store manager, then head over to her second job at a bar.

It was a shock to go from never needing to work much to 'being the one paying family bills,' she said.

Soon, she realized she had no money to continue going to school — and not much time to dedicate to classes, either.

So despite her 3.9 GPA and just two years of college behind her, Kiersten decided to drop out.

Though she plans to go back, she also came up with a Plan B: In addition to her two jobs, she started playing the stock market.

'Some of my friends made me go to an investment club meeting a year ago,' she said. 'Ever since then, I've had such a passion for the markets.'

'The moment COVID hit and I saw the market crash, I thought, this is my perfect opportunity to get started.'

She began small, and over time built up quiet a bit of cash.

'I just started in the stock market with $500,' she said. At first, 'I made pennies, dollars. That was my first real win.'

She watched as her bank account grow, little by little, topping $1,000, then $4,000, then $11,000.

'I ended up contributing about ten grand into the market. Slowly and slowly, it kept going up,' she said.

'I realized I was getting good at this. I became obsessed with the stock market,' she went on.

Eventually, she hit $50,000, and used the cash to treat her dad.

Now, Kiersten goes by @stonk.queen on social media, where she shares peeks into her life as a self-employed day trader inside her aqua-painted bedroom.

She also shares plenty of tips on TikTok andDiscord, offering explanations on topics like short selling and candlesticks as well as names of stocks she's keeping an eye on.

'You're not gonna get rich overnight doing this, and the market's not always gonna be nice to you,' she warns.

'But once you figure out how to use it, the possibilities could be endless,' she adds.

She recommends that people who want to try trading stocks on their own start by opening a brokerage account with firms like Fidelity, E-trade, Charles Schwab, Webull, and TD Ameritrade.

Then, she says, take five to ten books on trading out at the library. Make a list of all the terms you don't understand, and use it as a guide for what you have to teach yourself about, using those books or YouTube videos.

Networking with other people who are investing can help, too.