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Day trader vs foreign exchange trader

The differences between day traders and foreign exchange traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a day trader has an average salary of $116,895, which is higher than the $115,133 average annual salary of a foreign exchange trader.

The top three skills for a day trader include technical analysis, equities and market trends. The most important skills for a foreign exchange trader are manage risk, equities, and foreign exchange products.

Day trader vs foreign exchange trader overview

Day TraderForeign Exchange Trader
Yearly salary$116,895$115,133
Hourly rate$56.20$55.35
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs3,81217,829
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4343
Years of experience--

Day trader vs foreign exchange trader salary

Day traders and foreign exchange traders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Day TraderForeign Exchange Trader
Average salary$116,895$115,133
Salary rangeBetween $68,000 And $198,000Between $66,000 And $199,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Paul Hastings
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between day trader and foreign exchange trader education

There are a few differences between a day trader and a foreign exchange trader in terms of educational background:

Day TraderForeign Exchange Trader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Day trader vs foreign exchange trader demographics

Here are the differences between day traders' and foreign exchange traders' demographics:

Day TraderForeign Exchange Trader
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 90.5% Female, 9.5%Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 12.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between day trader and foreign exchange trader duties and responsibilities

Day trader example responsibilities.

  • Day-Trade stocks on the NASDAQ and NYSE, and achieve positive returns through an analysis of trends base on moving averages.
  • Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
  • Trade equities and derivatives for long term investment and short term trading purposes while utilizing proper risk management
  • Engage in market speculation of various commodities, rapid scalping of mini futures contracts & ETF's.
  • Perform a financial analysis, risk assessment of various publicly trade companies on the NYSE, NASDQ and CME.
  • Enter buy/sell orders for NASDAQ stocks
  • Show more

Foreign exchange trader example responsibilities.

  • Manage overall risk for FX online dealer during Asia shift.
  • Communicate with brokers to ensure accurate allocations for futures, foreign exchange, and equities between separately manage accounts.
  • Experience using Bloomberg, Reuters, and FX trading platforms.
  • Display subject matter expertise in Reuters, Bloomberg, EBS, and various foreign exchange platforms.
  • Use of Reuters, CQG and Knight-Ridder computer services.
  • Validate transaction and trading details with international banks and multiple ECN trading platforms.
  • Show more

Day trader vs foreign exchange trader skills

Common day trader skills
  • Technical Analysis, 15%
  • Equities, 10%
  • Market Trends, 6%
  • Fundamental Analysis, 6%
  • Global Financial Markets, 6%
  • Risk Management, 5%
Common foreign exchange trader skills
  • Manage Risk, 35%
  • Equities, 17%
  • Foreign Exchange Products, 12%
  • Foreign Currency Transactions, 8%
  • Technical Analysis, 3%
  • Fundamental Analysis, 2%