Literary agent vs trade specialist

The differences between literary agents and trade specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a literary agent and a trade specialist. Additionally, a literary agent has an average salary of $37,482, which is higher than the $36,693 average annual salary of a trade specialist.

The top three skills for a literary agent include fiction, non-fiction and administrative tasks. The most important skills for a trade specialist are customer service, HVAC, and plumbing.

Literary agent vs trade specialist overview

	Literary Agent	Trade Specialist
Yearly salary	$37,482	$36,693
Hourly rate	$18.02	$17.64
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	28,819	25,669
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

Literary agent vs trade specialist salary

Literary agents and trade specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Literary Agent	Trade Specialist
Average salary	$37,482	$36,693
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $57,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	Kansas
Best paying company	-	Ford Motor
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between literary agent and trade specialist education

There are a few differences between a literary agent and a trade specialist in terms of educational background:

	Literary Agent	Trade Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	English	Business
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	University of Pennsylvania

Literary agent vs trade specialist demographics

Here are the differences between literary agents' and trade specialists' demographics:

	Literary Agent	Trade Specialist
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 11.4% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between literary agent and trade specialist duties and responsibilities

Literary agent example responsibilities.

Schedule and meet individuals\groups for assign or self-generate leads, assist and enroll eligible individuals in suitable Medicare product.
Network at industry lunches and evening events on behalf of ICM.
Experience working with UK publishers, literary agents, and film and television production companies.
Perform editing services and act as agent for nonfiction business books and fiction work for other writers.
Acquire available life rights projects for all aspects of the company and pitch them for potential ICM represent projects.
Founder of a boutique literary agency specializing in literary fiction and narrative nonfiction.

Trade specialist example responsibilities.

Manage the accounts receivables for all commodities assign.
Prompt actions on CBP communications, avoiding exposure to fines and penalties.
Manage projects and partnerships to advance achievement of FDA's international public health goals.
Manage import and export projects, reviewing documentation to identify potential risks and make recommendations for mitigation to upper management.
Lead major initiatives in 3concurrent roles successfully manage affluent personal and business portfolio to proactively cross-sell additional products and services.
Task with providing P.M. maintenance, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, P.M. HVAC, emergency call-outs.

Literary agent vs trade specialist skills

Common literary agent skills

Fiction, 92%
Non-Fiction, 4%
Administrative Tasks, 4%

Common trade specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
HVAC, 11%
Plumbing, 10%
Hand Tools, 8%
CDL, 7%
Dump Truck, 4%

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Literary Agent
Literary Agent vs Trade Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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