Stock broker vs trader

The differences between stock brokers and traders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a trader has an average salary of $90,179, 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 trader are portfolio, financial markets, and derivative.

Stock broker vs trader overview

	Stock Broker	Trader
Yearly salary	$59,096	$90,179
Hourly rate	$28.41	$43.36
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	29,202	17,351
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	-

Stock broker vs trader salary

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

	Stock Broker	Trader
Average salary	$59,096	$90,179
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $93,000	Between $56,000 And $144,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	White Plains, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	ICAP	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between stock broker and trader education

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

	Stock Broker	Trader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Business	Finance
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Stock broker vs trader demographics

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

	Stock Broker	Trader
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
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, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between stock broker and 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.

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.

Stock broker vs trader skills

Common stock broker skills

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

Common trader skills

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