What Is A Day Trader? | Definition, Career, and Overview (2024)

• The most common job after being a day trader is a account executive.

• There are approximately 3,812 job openings for day traders in the US job market currently.

• The annual salary for day traders ranges from $88,000 to $154,000 per year.

• About 68% of day traders have a bachelor's degree.

• The three most common skills for day traders are technical analysis, equities, and market trends.

• 9.5% of day traders are women, while 90.5% are men.

Day Trader Career Paths

Average Salary for a Day Trader

Markets are important for economic growth and industrial development in a country. However, markets cannot operate without the active participation of traders. Traders encourage a market that is efficient and robust. Just like investors, traders offer a valuable service to markets, while earning money and making profits.

Traders analyze price fluctuations, buy and sell financial equipment for their clients, and monitor stock movements. They may work as financial advisors to people who can't handle their account investments and need financial management support. Traders concentrate on both long and short-term trades, depending on the client's interests and specific requirements.

A successful trader is a highly analytical professional who knows about the financial industry and how to deal with constant market changes. Once becoming a trader, you can demand a salary of $53.26 per hour, on average. Are you intrigued by such an awesome salary? Get at least a bachelor's degree in finance or business and you can earn it as a trader.

If you love making money and doing research, an Equity Trader could be a great job for you. Equity traders do research and analysis to determine when to buy or sell shares of a company on the equities market. Duties as an equity trader also may include trading options, futures, and exchanging debt funds and other derivatives. You will need to show a high level of analytical skills, math skills, and detail-oriented skills.

To become an equity trader, you will need a bachelor's degree in business, finance, economics, or another related subject. You may need to earn a graduate degree to have more job opportunities and make more trades and money. Often employers prefer higher degrees. You will also need at least five years of experience in the financial market to be successful.

An equity trader can make an average base salary of $205,000. Also, you can add commissions to your base salary and your pay per year goes higher.

A commodity trader is an individual or business that buys and sells different commodities, including gold, oil, produce, and natural gas, just to name a few. Economic trends, market fluctuations, or arbitrage opportunities usually determine the buying and selling activities of this type of trader.

The main duties of a commodity trader are monitoring international market performance, buying and selling at prices that meet their clients' needs, providing investment advice to clients, analyzing market reports, and developing hedging strategies. A commodity trader's tasks may also include visiting international shippers and researching new business opportunities that they may come across.

This role typically entails at least a bachelor's degree, usually in finance, business, economics, and other related majors. Additionally, a commodity trader must have substantial knowledge of trading techniques, market conditions, and international trading to be successful in this role.

The average yearly salary of a commodity trader is $92,000. Traders can make even more money by making the right calls in buying and selling, as well as securing high-value clients.

Most Common Employers For Day Trader

Show More