Since oil looks likely to be range-bound for awhile, futures probably will be more affected by "technical factors" like trading volume and short-term price swings.

The thing is, technical trading isn't the type of thing generally offered in college. Jun Wy, an investment adviser who day trades and also works for the online brokerage Direct Trade Futures, said he studied computer networking in college.

Wy said he's self-taught in the art (science?) of technical trading, having gleaned most of his knowledge from books, trading forums and online chat rooms.