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The differences between options traders and commodity traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an options trader has an average salary of $110,139, which is higher than the $93,220 average annual salary of a commodity trader.
The top three skills for an options trader include FX, stock options and equities. The most important skills for a commodity trader are commodities, commodity trading, and logistics.
| Options Trader | Commodity Trader | |
| Yearly salary | $110,139 | $93,220 |
| Hourly rate | $52.95 | $44.82 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 1,433 | 10,906 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Options traders are financial experts who work for large investment banks or private hedge fund companies to buy and sell stock options as well as manage complex capital investments for clients. These traders are required to create options contracts and develop forecasting models so that they can determine the optimal price to buy an option to maximize profit and minimize risk. They must assist head traders with client services to allow more trading revenue production. Options traders must also employ risk management strategies to minimize portfolio risk and increase their volume in trading.
Commodity traders can be businesses or individuals that mainly focus on investing in oils, gold, or agricultural products. They keep up with the news on commodities to ensure that they know the different forces that determine their prices and use their technical analysis skills to decide to enter or exit trading decisions based on the current trend. These traders often use a futures contract to buy or sell commodities from any category at a predetermined price and time in the future.
Options traders and commodity traders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Options Trader | Commodity Trader | |
| Average salary | $110,139 | $93,220 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $185,000 | Between $55,000 And $156,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Stamford, CT |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between an options trader and a commodity trader in terms of educational background:
| Options Trader | Commodity Trader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Finance | Finance |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between options traders' and commodity traders' demographics:
| Options Trader | Commodity Trader | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% | Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 12.2% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 12.2% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |