Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between traders and investors 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 $88,055 average annual salary of an investor.
The top three skills for a trader include portfolio, financial markets and derivative. The most important skills for an investor are financial statements, IR, and press releases.
| Trader | Investor | |
| Yearly salary | $90,179 | $88,055 |
| Hourly rate | $43.36 | $42.33 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 17,351 | 8,409 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A trader is responsible for buying and selling financial instruments for a firm or an individual, monitoring stock movements, and analyzing price fluctuations. Traders focus on short-term and long-term trades, depending on their customers' demands and best interests. In some cases, traders also act as financial advisors to their clients, providing financial management support, and handling their account investments. A trader must have excellent knowledge of the financial industry and must be highly-analytical, dealing with consistent changes in the stock market and maintain smart decisions to achieve their clients' financial goals.
An investor is a person who decides to put on their money into a particular bank, company, or institution without assuring the return of that investment. Often, investors spend their money on education, business, or even retirement. Some people also invest in mutual funds, stock exchanges, real estate, or stocks in a corporation.
Traders and investors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Trader | Investor | |
| Average salary | $90,179 | $88,055 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $144,000 | Between $36,000 And $214,000 |
| Highest paying City | White Plains, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Alaska |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Goldman Sachs |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a trader and an investor in terms of educational background:
| Trader | Investor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Finance | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between traders' and investors' demographics:
| Trader | Investor | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9% | Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 12% |