How To Become A Stock Trader: What It Is and Career Path

What is a stock trader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a stock trader. For example, did you know that they make an average of $55.9 an hour? That's $116,269 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 47,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreStock TraderUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $116,269

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 12.23%

Black or African American 5.45%

Hispanic or Latino 11.31%

Unknown 4.12%

White 66.68%

Gender

female 15.54%

male 84.46%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a stock trader

Explore stock trader education requirements

Most common stock trader degrees

Bachelor's

74.0 %

Master's

12.2 %

Associate

10.0 %

Start to develop specific stock trader skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Statements	16.18%
Stock Market	10.32%
Technical Analysis	10.32%
Market Trends	9.29%
Fundamental Analysis	9.16%

Research stock trader duties and responsibilities

Manage business, sales, marketing, international negotiation and communication for a commodities business.
Maintain complete knowledge of investment products including stocks, options, municipal bonds, treasuries, mutual funds and annuities.
Develop knowledge and actively trade equities, futures, options, and currencies.
Synchronize logistics of multiple cash and derivative trading desks.

Get stock trader experience

Prepare your stock trader resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your stock trader resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a stock trader resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable stock trader resume templates

Build a professional stock trader resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your stock trader resume.