Stock broker vs day trader

The differences between stock brokers and day traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a day trader has an average salary of $116,895, which is higher than the $59,096 average annual salary of a stock broker.

The top three skills for a stock broker include financial products, client portfolios and securities. The most important skills for a day trader are technical analysis, equities, and market trends.

Stock broker vs day trader overview

	Stock Broker	Day Trader
Yearly salary	$59,096	$116,895
Hourly rate	$28.41	$56.20
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	29,202	3,812
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	-

Stock broker vs day trader salary

Stock brokers and day traders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Stock Broker	Day Trader
Average salary	$59,096	$116,895
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $93,000	Between $68,000 And $198,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	ICAP	-
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between stock broker and day trader education

There are a few differences between a stock broker and a day trader in terms of educational background:

	Stock Broker	Day Trader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Stock broker vs day trader demographics

Here are the differences between stock brokers' and day traders' demographics:

	Stock Broker	Day Trader
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%	Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 12.3% White, 66.4% 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, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between stock broker and day trader duties and responsibilities

Stock broker example responsibilities.

Manage communication with clients regarding margin call requirements base on NYSE and NASD standards.
Administer the purchase and sale of small cap equities trade on NASDAQ and NYSE exchanges.
Study to pass all require FINRA testing!
Develop and monitor all stock trading and reporting and institute guidelines for proper FINRA procedures.
Calculate common area maintenance expenses and CPI increases and notify tenants via letter of increases.
Generate over $200k in derivative commission revenue through full-service brokerage and execution and roughly $100K in self-direct trading commission.

Day trader example responsibilities.

Day-Trade stocks on the NASDAQ and NYSE, and achieve positive returns through an analysis of trends base on moving averages.
Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
Trade equities and derivatives for long term investment and short term trading purposes while utilizing proper risk management
Engage in market speculation of various commodities, rapid scalping of mini futures contracts & ETF's.
Perform a financial analysis, risk assessment of various publicly trade companies on the NYSE, NASDQ and CME.
Enter buy/sell orders for NASDAQ stocks

Stock broker vs day trader skills

Common stock broker skills

Financial Products, 11%
Client Portfolios, 10%
Securities, 8%
Bonds, 7%
Stock Market, 4%
Cold Calls, 4%

Common day trader skills

Technical Analysis, 15%
Equities, 10%
Market Trends, 6%
Fundamental Analysis, 6%
Global Financial Markets, 6%
Risk Management, 5%

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Stock Broker vs Day Trader

Updated January 8, 2025

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