There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a day trader. For example, did you know that they make an average of $56.2 an hour? That's $116,895 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 18,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Day Trader Do

There are certain skills that many day traders have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, customer-service skills and detail oriented.

How To Become a Day Trader

If you're interested in becoming a day trader, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 67.5% of day traders have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.9% of day traders have master's degrees. Even though most day traders have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Day Trader Career Paths

Average Salary for a Day Trader

Day Traders in America make an average salary of $116,895 per year or $56 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $198,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $68,000 per year.
Average Day Trader Salary
$116,895 Yearly
$56.20 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Day Trader

There are several types of day trader, including:

Trader

Role:

Markets are important for economic growth and industrial development in a country. However, markets cannot operate without the active participation of traders. Traders encourage a market that is efficient and robust. Just like investors, traders offer a valuable service to markets, while earning money and making profits.

Traders analyze price fluctuations, buy and sell financial equipment for their clients, and monitor stock movements. They may work as financial advisors to people who can't handle their account investments and need financial management support. Traders concentrate on both long and short-term trades, depending on the client's interests and specific requirements.

A successful trader is a highly analytical professional who knows about the financial industry and how to deal with constant market changes. Once becoming a trader, you can demand a salary of $53.26 per hour, on average. Are you intrigued by such an awesome salary? Get at least a bachelor's degree in finance or business and you can earn it as a trader.
  • Average Salary: $90,179
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Equity Trader

Role:

If you love making money and doing research, an Equity Trader could be a great job for you. Equity traders do research and analysis to determine when to buy or sell shares of a company on the equities market. Duties as an equity trader also may include trading options, futures, and exchanging debt funds and other derivatives. You will need to show a high level of analytical skills, math skills, and detail-oriented skills.

To become an equity trader, you will need a bachelor's degree in business, finance, economics, or another related subject. You may need to earn a graduate degree to have more job opportunities and make more trades and money. Often employers prefer higher degrees. You will also need at least five years of experience in the financial market to be successful.

An equity trader can make an average base salary of $205,000. Also, you can add commissions to your base salary and your pay per year goes higher.
  • Average Salary: $101,759
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Commodity Trader

Role:

A commodity trader is an individual or business that buys and sells different commodities, including gold, oil, produce, and natural gas, just to name a few. Economic trends, market fluctuations, or arbitrage opportunities usually determine the buying and selling activities of this type of trader.

The main duties of a commodity trader are monitoring international market performance, buying and selling at prices that meet their clients' needs, providing investment advice to clients, analyzing market reports, and developing hedging strategies. A commodity trader's tasks may also include visiting international shippers and researching new business opportunities that they may come across.

This role typically entails at least a bachelor's degree, usually in finance, business, economics, and other related majors. Additionally, a commodity trader must have substantial knowledge of trading techniques, market conditions, and international trading to be successful in this role.

The average yearly salary of a commodity trader is $92,000. Traders can make even more money by making the right calls in buying and selling, as well as securing high-value clients.
  • Average Salary: $93,220
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Day Trader Jobs

Number Of Day Trader Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Illinois151$106,137
2California135$98,162
3New York121$150,416
4Michigan104$116,898
5Ohio89$114,443
6Florida83$97,315
7Massachusetts79$102,673
8Pennsylvania75$95,334
9Missouri72$104,934
10Indiana72$83,119
11Texas67$113,514
12Georgia58$110,782
13Virginia51$94,643
14Washington48$87,423
15North Carolina36$100,167
16Arizona34$92,358
17Wisconsin34$84,672
18Oklahoma30$110,590
19Minnesota29$106,105
20New Jersey29$102,808
21Maryland27$101,744
22Colorado27$77,451
23Connecticut25$128,844
24South Carolina24$104,907
25Tennessee23$91,083
26Kentucky17$104,525
27Oregon16$91,614
28Iowa15$94,664
29Nebraska11$84,764
30Rhode Island10$135,645
31Kansas10$91,327
32Nevada9$131,728
33Louisiana8$113,305
34Utah8$99,829
35Alabama7$78,147
36Delaware6$131,339
37New Mexico6$116,272
38Maine6$101,264
39North Dakota5$89,740
40Idaho5$85,433
41Vermont3$100,597
42New Hampshire2$135,890
43Wyoming2$98,333
44Montana2$99,418
45South Dakota2$94,691
46Mississippi2$96,288
47Alaska2$89,557
48West Virginia1$115,015
49Arkansas0$98,654
50Hawaii0$100,497

Day Trader Education

Day Trader Majors

28.0 %
18.2 %

Day Trader Degrees

Bachelors

67.5 %

Associate

13.4 %

Masters

9.9 %

Top Colleges for Day Traders

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Finance
Business
Economics
Political Science
Computer Science

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Economics
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Science
Communication
Accounting
Economics

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Economics
Accounting
Psychology
Computer Science
Business

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Finance
Communication
Accounting
Marketing

6. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Criminal Justice
Communication

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Accounting
Finance
Business
Marketing
Business Economics

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Economics
Computer Science
Psychology

9. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Psychology
Economics
Liberal Arts

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Economics
Psychology
Political Science

Top Skills For a Day Trader

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.7% of day traders listed technical analysis on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and customer-service skills are important as well.

  • Technical Analysis, 14.7%
  • Equities, 9.8%
  • Market Trends, 6.0%
  • Fundamental Analysis, 5.8%
  • Global Financial Markets, 5.7%
  • Other Skills, 58.0%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Day Trader Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Day Trader templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Day Trader resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Day Trader Demographics

Day Trader Gender Distribution

Male
Male
91%
Female
Female
10%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among day traders, 9.5% of them are women, while 90.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among day traders is White, which makes up 66.3% of all day traders.

  • The most common foreign language among day traders is Spanish at 36.4%.

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Top Day Trader Employers

Most Common Employers For Day Trader

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Cost Plus World Market$145,292$69.852
2Homes.com$130,082$62.542
3SMC$128,088$61.582
4TD Ameritrade$126,172$60.666
5Charles Schwab$125,661$60.414
6Forex$121,863$58.596
7Opportunity International$121,300$58.322
8T3 Trading Group$118,945$57.195
9SogoTrade$118,640$57.042
10Tower Hill Trading$118,634$57.048

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