Also called: Grain Trader, Futures Trader (Ag), Commodity Merchant
Buys and sells huge volumes of grain, soybeans, cattle, or coffee on global markets, trying to profit from price swings.
You watch screens full of futures prices, weather maps of Brazil, and shipping reports. A drought rumor in Argentina can change your whole day. You're on the phone with buyers in Asia and elevators in Iowa, hedging risk and making split-second calls.
Bonuses dominate; top traders at firms like Cargill or ADM earn far above the median.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in ag economics, finance, or business; many start as merchandisers at grain companies.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Agricultural Economics, Finance, Agribusiness.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Estimate based on securities and commodities sales agents.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Algorithms run much of trading and AI reads markets fast; human traders shrink to those running big physical deals and relationships.
Classes: AP Economics, AP Statistics, Agriculture business.
Official data: O*NET occupation 41-3031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.