After my recent article encouraging people to consider investing in stocks, I received several messages from individuals asking me to mentor them in stock investing. That really humbled me — but let me be honest with you: I am not a stock market expert.
By profession, I am an academic and a civil engineer, specializing in environmental and water resources engineering. My journey into the stock market didn’t begin with any formal financial background — it began with curiosity.
In May 2024, I decided to start buying a few shares, not with the intention of becoming an investor overnight, but simply to experiment — to test whether it’s really possible to diversify income through passive means.
Eight months later, when I checked the values of those shares, I was pleasantly surprised. Some had grown between 17% and 84% — without me lifting a finger! After a full year, a few of them had appreciated by more than 400%, with an average gain of about 100%.
That experience completely changed my perception of the stock market. I realized that while it’s not a “get-rich-quick” system, it rewards patience, observation, and informed decision-making.
So, in September 2025, I made a personal decision: to study the stock market seriously — not as a trader, but as a lifelong learner who loves to understand how systems work with the hope of becoming an investor.
Every day, I now take time to monitor stock movements, study charts, and try to understand how numbers rise and fall in response to:
• Investor sentiments
• Government policies
• Company reports and earnings
• Market corrections and global trends
I’ve also developed an interest in understanding how professionals use upside and downside potentials to issue BUY, SELL, or HOLD recommendations. I try to identify their strengths and practical limitations, and how these metrics evolve based on market realities.
To enrich my understanding, I regularly:
✅ Attend paid webinars hosted by expert traders and stockbrokers
✅ Watch YouTube channels that simplify investing concepts
✅ Read financial reports, analyses, and commentaries from credible sources
All of this, not because I want to become a professional stock analyst — but because I believe that financial literacy is no longer optional. Whether you’re an engineer, teacher, doctor, or student, you owe it to yourself to understand how money works, how it grows, and how to make it work for you.
The stock market may look intimidating at first, but with consistency, curiosity, and a learning mindset, it becomes one of the most rewarding classrooms you can ever enter.
So, no, I am not an expert — but I am a student of the market, and every day brings a new lesson worth learning.
