How Much Does a Stock Broker Make in 2018?

Are you interested in becoming a stock broker yourself, or are you just fascinated with the stock market and want to find out how much does a stock broker make? Regardless of the reason, today’s article is going to answer that question for you. We’re not going to look just at how much does a stock broker make, but also at how the work environment is, and what is this job’s outlook. However, we’re not going to do any of that before clearing up what exactly does a stock broker do on a daily basis.

What Does a Stock Broker Do?

For the people who are not 100 percent sure what a stock broker does, we should mention that stock brokers are financial service agents who specialize in helping customers buy and sell within financial marketplaces, due to their keen insight into the market.

Stock brokers are typically responsible with selling securities and commodities, advising clients on suitable investments, helping clients manage their investment portfolios, executing trades or sales in the exchange market, monitoring the performance of stocks, and protecting the financial interests of clients.

How Much Does a Stock Broker Make?

How much does a stock broker make? Well, according to salary.com, the average annual stock broker salary in the U.S. is $61,606. In general, the salary ranges between $53,560 and $66,692. Even so, this is just an average number. Some brokers win more than others. This depends on how good they are at what they do and how many people use their services.

For instance, the bottom 10% in the profession earn $46,235 or less. On the other hand, the top 10% of stock brokers bring home six-figure salaries, as high as $71,322 annually.

How Is the Work Environment?

The work environment is extremely important when it comes to choosing a job. So if you’re considering becoming a stock broker, you should know a little bit about the responsibilities you would have and the atmosphere you should expect at work. The vast majority of stock brokers, which is more than 40 percent, have a job through securities and commodity contracts intermediation brokerages.

Others may find employment in depository or nondepository credit intermediation, management consulting services, petroleum wholesalers, metal and mineral merchant wholesalers, and other financial investment services. As you can see, there are many fields where you can get a job as a stock broker. This means you’re more likely to find one that suits your needs.

The highest concentrations of stock brokers exists in New York City, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Dallas. This is something worth considering, especially for people who don’t live in one of these cities. In order to make a successful career as a broker, you’re probably going to have to relocate to one of the cities above. However, this is not mandatory.

Finally, since electronic trading is quickly replacing verbal auctions, most stock brokers spend long hours beyond the standard 40-hour week behind a desk carrying out orders, rather than on the stock exchange floor. This means that the job is definitely not easy. You should expect days in which you work overtime and sit at a desk all day long.

What Is the Job Outlook?

Specialists expect employment for stock brokers and other commodities agents to grow at a rate of 15 percent. This will create 47,500 new jobs before 2020. It’s true that the financial services industry has experienced some cutbacks and consolidations due to the recent economic crises. Still, the industry is slowly resuming its natural growth and subsequent recovery.

Even so, an interesting thing to consider is the fact that this growth will be severely hindered by the growing popularity of online stock trading sites and automated robo-advisory services such as Wealthfront and Betterment. These services enable clients to conduct transactions on their own, without needing the assistance of a stock broker. As such, being a stock broker might not be such a profitable career in the distant future.

We hope today’s article managed to provide you with an answer to the question “How much does a stock broker make?” and with some useful information about the job.

Article updated in February 2018.

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