Market maker vs trader

The differences between market makers and traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a market maker has an average salary of $108,335, which is higher than the $90,179 average annual salary of a trader.

The top three skills for a market maker include equity options, portfolio risk and NASD. The most important skills for a trader are portfolio, financial markets, and derivative.

Market maker vs trader overview

	Market Maker	Trader
Yearly salary	$108,335	$90,179
Hourly rate	$52.08	$43.36
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	17,618	17,351
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 87%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	-

Market maker vs trader salary

Market makers and traders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Market Maker	Trader
Average salary	$108,335	$90,179
Salary range	Between $62,000 And $188,000	Between $56,000 And $144,000
Highest paying City	-	White Plains, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	The Citadel
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between market maker and trader education

There are a few differences between a market maker and a trader in terms of educational background:

	Market Maker	Trader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 87%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Finance	Finance
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Market maker vs trader demographics

Here are the differences between market makers' and traders' demographics:

	Market Maker	Trader
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 9.9% White, 67.9% 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 market maker and trader duties and responsibilities

Market maker example responsibilities.

Manage and critiqu all trades execute on NYMEX trading floor via computer system.
Trade several equities and options names, managing all risk, capital and executing trades using electronic screen base software/technology.
Dissect and manage complex derivative position risks, manage risks and interpret complex financial documents.
Price and risk manage multiple positions in corporate derivatives, including accelerate share buyback programs and long-date convertible bond/call spread overlays.
Merge business operations to expand service offering to include etf's, options, and foreign adr's.
Analyze market conditions and make decisions to buy/sell equities using fundamental and technical analysis.

Trader example responsibilities.

Manage Smithtown branch office ensuring compliance with NASD regulations.
Manage and hedge generation within PJM, MISO, and ERCOT.
Manage options trading to ensure a positive ROI within a volatile market.
Initiate and manage financial, physical and virtual trades resulting in a positive PnL.
Manage products with the supply chain warehouses and interface with both corporate logistics and common carriers.
Coordinate MBS and whole loan delivers to ensure settlements are achieve to minimize extension and pair off fees.

Market maker vs trader skills

Common market maker skills

Equity Options, 11%
Portfolio Risk, 9%
NASD, 7%
Financial Markets, 6%
Manage Risk, 6%
Equities, 5%

Common trader skills

Portfolio, 13%
Financial Markets, 6%
Derivative, 5%
Fixed Income, 5%
Equities, 4%
Securities, 4%