I think trading is one of the best methods to make money from bitcoin and altcoins. But it is not so easy, you need some knowledge about it, otherwise it is so risky. You can participate also in the Bounty campaigns and earn some tokens for free.
Most people will lose money trading. I lost quite a lot at first (both coins and dollars). Over time, I became a more consistently profitable trader, but it took a lot of patience and hard work. You need to be really patient holding altcoin bags. They are really illiquid and you can lose a lot of value instantly. It's important to learn how to patiently hold through such market action.