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The differences between merchants and investment bankers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an investment banker has an average salary of $162,715, which is higher than the $74,999 average annual salary of a merchant.
The top three skills for a merchant include product development, gross margin and market trends. The most important skills for an investment banker are financial services, discounted cash flow, and capital markets.
| Merchant | Investment Banker | |
| Yearly salary | $74,999 | $162,715 |
| Hourly rate | $36.06 | $78.23 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 15,395 | 28,460 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A merchant is responsible for selling goods and services for an organization to generate revenues by reaching out to existing and potential customers and discuss the products' features. Merchants must have extensive knowledge of the goods offered by the company to be able to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns accurately. They also maintain the adequacy of inventory for store orders, create purchase requests, and analyze sales performance. A merchant coordinates with the sales and marketing team to develop efficient promotional strategies and increase brand awareness on public platforms.
An investment banker is responsible for selling and issuing securities and financial assets to the stock markets to generate money and raise capital for organizations and financial institutions. Investment bankers also work with private clients to advise them of investment options and financial transactions according to the market's condition and clients' interests. They handle the clients' investment portfolios and create propositions for acquisitions and company mergers. An investment banker must have excellent knowledge of the financial and stock industry, as well as having excellent analytical skills to review statistical data and determine the best financial strategies.
Merchants and investment bankers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchant | Investment Banker | |
| Average salary | $74,999 | $162,715 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $119,000 | Between $95,000 And $276,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Levi Strauss & Co. | Citi |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a merchant and an investment banker in terms of educational background:
| Merchant | Investment Banker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between merchants' and investment bankers' demographics:
| Merchant | Investment Banker | |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.1% Female, 57.9% | Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 7.4% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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 | 7% | 6% |