Trading is a risky game but there are ways to make it an educated guess based on Fundamental and Technical analysis. You have to treat your trading as a business and make decisions based on what will be good for your style of life and risk tolerance. My advice will be to trade conservatively and so even if decisions go wrong you will be holding companies that are profit making. Start with ETFs and Solid profit-making companies like Microsoft Apple Google Facebook. Then play with options so you can leverage your money.
On the technical side, I use Central Pivot Range and momentum indicators to predict the market direction and trend. I follow the following Rules to take the trade and also get out of the trade.
Pick 25 fundamentally strong stocks / ETF from DOW 30 or Nasdaq or SP500
Look for Uptrending or Down Trending CPR
Look for Buy Signal from Momentum indicators
Wait for the Price Action from Candle
Then take the trade using options.