Stock broker vs direct sales agent

The differences between stock brokers and direct sales agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a stock broker and a direct sales agent. Additionally, a stock broker has an average salary of $59,096, which is higher than the $57,712 average annual salary of a direct sales agent.

The top three skills for a stock broker include financial products, client portfolios and securities. The most important skills for a direct sales agent are customer service, medicare, and health insurance.

Stock broker vs direct sales agent overview

	Stock Broker	Direct Sales Agent
Yearly salary	$59,096	$57,712
Hourly rate	$28.41	$27.75
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	29,202	225,552
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

Stock broker vs direct sales agent salary

Stock brokers and direct sales agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Stock Broker	Direct Sales Agent
Average salary	$59,096	$57,712
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $93,000	Between $30,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	ICAP	TechnipFMC
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between stock broker and direct sales agent education

There are a few differences between a stock broker and a direct sales agent in terms of educational background:

	Stock Broker	Direct Sales Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Stock broker vs direct sales agent demographics

Here are the differences between stock brokers' and direct sales agents' demographics:

	Stock Broker	Direct Sales Agent
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%
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, 5.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between stock broker and direct sales agent 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.

Direct sales agent example responsibilities.

Increase customer understanding of Comcast products and pricing models as well as competitive advantage over other service providers.
Produce call reports and CRM dashboards.
Demonstrate strong understanding of Comcast products, promoting and selling offerings to individual customers by knocking every door within assign territories.
Contact new and existing customers to discuss how TWC products can meet their needs.
Maintain a professional, respectful, and helpful demeanor as a representative of TWC.
Communicate ongoing contact activity utilizing Salesforce.com.

Stock broker vs direct sales agent skills

Common stock broker skills

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

Common direct sales agent skills

Customer Service, 25%
Medicare, 15%
Health Insurance, 12%
Direct Sales, 11%
Underwriting Process, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%

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Sales Industry
Stock Broker
Stock Broker vs Direct Sales Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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