Grain trader vs sales trader

The differences between grain traders and sales traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a grain trader and a sales trader. Additionally, a sales trader has an average salary of $108,427, which is higher than the $107,547 average annual salary of a grain trader.

The top three skills for a grain trader include commodities, arbitrage and wheat. The most important skills for a sales trader are equities, derivative, and institutional clients.

Grain trader vs sales trader overview

	Grain Trader	Sales Trader
Yearly salary	$107,547	$108,427
Hourly rate	$51.71	$52.13
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	1,017	19,736
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

Grain trader vs sales trader salary

Grain traders and sales traders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Grain Trader	Sales Trader
Average salary	$107,547	$108,427
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $188,000	Between $63,000 And $185,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Merrill Lynch
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between grain trader and sales trader education

There are a few differences between a grain trader and a sales trader in terms of educational background:

	Grain Trader	Sales Trader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common major	Business	Finance
Most common college	Harvard University	University of Pennsylvania

Grain trader vs sales trader demographics

Here are the differences between grain traders' and sales traders' demographics:

	Grain Trader	Sales Trader
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 73.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between grain trader and sales trader duties and responsibilities

Grain trader example responsibilities.

Communicate with brokers to ensure accurate allocations for futures, foreign exchange, and equities between separately manage accounts.
Purchase and sell physical commodities in order to capitalize on arbitrage opportunities between various locations, markets and commodities.
Automate the trade allocation and reconciliation procedures using VBA programming which is leveraged to systematically detect any trade breaks or discrepancies.
Make markets electronically in CME commodity option markets.

Sales trader example responsibilities.

Price, trade and risk manage equity derivatives including OTC single stock options and list options.
Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
Administer institutional equity accounts and expedite customer order flow for the NYSE, NASDAQ and OTC marketplace.
Trade exchange list and OTC stocks, fixed-income securities and equity derivatives, prior to company sell to UBS.
Develop relationships with institutional clients in equities primary and secondary markets.
Transact institutional equity and derivative trades on behalf of alternative investment funds.

Grain trader vs sales trader skills

Common grain trader skills

Commodities, 52%
Arbitrage, 30%
Wheat, 18%

Common sales trader skills

Equities, 8%
Derivative, 7%
Institutional Clients, 6%
Trade Execution, 6%
Client Relationships, 5%
Equity Trades, 5%

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Grain Trader
Grain Trader vs Sales Trader

Updated January 8, 2025

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