The use and trade of marijuana is growing exponentially. This growth is attracting many marijuana enthusiasts and growers to turn their passion into a business.
The growth has definitely inspired and awakens a strong entrepreneurial mindset among many. Some people are just okay with working as an employee in the sector that they really enjoy.
There are many jobs and career opportunities in the industry of marijuana. If you are looking for a work that may require you to know about the different strains of cannabis, you may try to understand the common type recommended by Weekend Gardener.
However, some highly skilled and very technical job positions will require not only a college degree but also even PHD degrees.
Whether you are a person who is trying to explore business opportunities in growing and selling marijuana or you would like to work as an employee for a marijuana business, the most important thing to take into consideration is to earn a substantial sum of money out of it.
Sure, it feels great to be working in an industry that you have a passion for. However, at the end of the day, you need to get a job. You need to start a business in an industry that will create the kind of money that will not only provide food on the table.
You need to earn a living from a job or business that will also improve the quality of your life.
How Big Is The Market Of Marijuana?
The likelihood of hitting it big in any industry can be predicted through the size of the market of that industry.
The massiveness of an industry’s market determines whether there are more and bigger opportunities for business and work in that sector.
As for cannabis, in 2017, the industry of legal marijuana has raked in a total of $9 billion revenue in the US.
Since then, the revenue has continuously increased, and experts estimate that by the year 2021 the revenue of the marijuana industry would be around $21 billion.
This upward trend in revenue has created and still creating countless jobs and business opportunities from growing marijuana to trading and selling of cannabis-based products.
This upward trend in the growth of the marijuana industry’s market is mostly attributed to the medicinal value of marijuana, end of prohibition of marijuana use and trade, and technological advancement in plant genetics and patenting of genetically modified marijuana.
To give you an example, the Australian government used to have zero revenue from cannabis because the possession, use, and trade of cannabis used to be illegal and penalized in the country.
However, upon lifting of prohibition, the plant growers have started experimenting on products for medical use of marijuana.
Then, they have started growing and breeding more plants as the domestic market became more engaged in their products.
When finally, their supply of raw marijuana became bigger than what the demand in their own country, they have started exporting marijuana internationally.
What Are The Risks In Entering The Marijuana Market?
When it comes to risks or at least things that may slow down the business in marijuana, the biggest driver for a slum in the industry is marijuana’s still illegal status in most nations worldwide.
In fact, in the majority of countries, there are heavy penalties in the mere possession of this plant.
In certain areas, the mere possession of marijuana can land you a death penalty. This fact remains to be the biggest stumbling block in the continuous growth of business and career in the cannabis industry.
Other things that experts also identified to slow down the industry include limited resources — like water, unsustainable farming, and strict regulations by governments that have legalized marijuana — the competition of marijuana with mainstream and alternative medicine.
How Much Are You Going To Make When You Enter The Marijuana Industry?
Whether you are building a business or starting a career, a perfect indicator of success is how much is the return of your investment would be.
If you are curious about how much money you can make in establishing a business or a career in industry, here is a compilation of salaries per day in the most common and most popular jobs in the marijuana industry.
Career Opportunities In Cultivation Of Marijuana
Marijuana industry starts at the farms or backyard garden. During the times when marijuana was still largely prohibited, many cannabis growers rely on the secrecy of their operations.
Often, growing cannabis is much more dangerous than pushing them because the evidence of marijuana stays in the area where the grower often lives or conducts his other for front business.
Now that marijuana has largely been legalized, the cultivation of marijuana is considered one of the most important sectors in the marijuana industry.
As such, some of the highest-paying marijuana businesses and jobs are found in this particular sector.
However, growing cannabis requires a special skill set. Therefore, not just anyone can do jobs or establish a business in this sector.
The cultivation of marijuana requires a deeper understanding, wider knowledge, and strong aptitude in techniques, technology and insights in farming and growing this herb.
It is very important to also have great knowledge and understanding of the various strains of marijuana available and the unique demands to grow of each strain. The most common jobs in this particular sector are Master Grower, Junior Grower, and Bud Trimmer.
A Master Grower is usually the highest-paid position in the sector of marijuana cultivation marijuana. His/her primary responsibility is to monitor and lead to farming marijuana.
It is important for a master grower to have respect on the high value of marijuana as an agricultural crop.
Other tasks that a master grower is responsible for managing of the garden/farm employees, liaising with government compliance inspectors, DEA, and local law enforcement.
On average, the annual salary of a master grower ranges from $80,000 to $150,000. Comparing this with the average salary of a botanist working in non-marijuana-related jobs, a master grower’s salary is exponentially higher.
A Junior Grower is the apprentice of the master grower. He/she is often considered to be a master grower in training.
As such a junior master grower works directly under the management and tutelage of a master grower.
Primarily, the tasks and duties of a junior grower include planting, cloning, feeding, and watering of the crops. On average, a junior grower’s salary may range from $30,000 to $70,000 per year.
A Bud Trimmer is the person who is responsible in collecting the buds of your crops during harvest season.
Depending on the scale of operations, bud trimmers can be five or more employees who would come to work only during the harvest season.
However, there are times when bud trimmers are also trained with other skills and they also become all around utility workers in the farms.
This is a very good entry-level job because there is an enormous room for upward mobility. There is also no requirement for formal education. The salary ranges from $20,000 to $25,000 per year.
Career Opportunities In Cannabis Production
Cannabis production is the process by which marijuana plants are retrieved from growers to process the raw leaves into cannabis products.
In some cases, cannabis production is part of one big company that also includes the cultivation of marijuana.
But in many cases, there are businesses that focus solely on the production of cannabis products who get their raw materials in multiple far sources.
Some of the primary jobs in this sector are master extractor, extraction technician and packaging/delivery drivers.
A master extractor manages the whole factory or production facility. For companies that use CBD oil and other similar products, a master extractor is responsible for ensuring that the raw materials are processed into cannabis oils and concentrates.
An aspiring master extractor needs to have a background in more advanced scientific knowledge in processing of plant raw materials.
Master extractors work mostly in a laboratory, as such, there is an incredible need not only of the basics in laboratory sciences but also in more specialized processes.
A person is also responsible for all administrative functions in the factory, including the management of all of the employees.
A chemist, chemical engineer or industrial engineer may be able to work in this career. A person with this type of position will typically earn around $60,000 and $100,000 annually.
However, for master extractors with PhDs, and years of experience in the industry of processing raw materials, an $180,000 per year salary is not uncommon.
An extractor technician is present to learn much of the techniques of the Master Extractor.
An extractor technician may be a person who has just graduated from college in an undergraduate degree similar to the master extractor. As an entry-level position, the typical salary is between $45,000 to $75,000 annually.
Packaging/Delivery Drivers are the ones who assist the extractors in the daily grind of work in the plant. The packaging department is the ones who package the products.
The Delivery team is the ones who deliver them to stores and dispensaries. People at this position usually are assessed by a background check.
The hourly wage for these positions is between $13 to $21. Full-time packaging and delivery driver positions may earn around $25,000 to $45,000 a year.
Career Opportunities In Dispensary Sales
There are more jobs in the marijuana industry. This includes the people that sell the products.
Many of the people in sales work hard because the earning is really good as compared to a similar job or position in other industries.
Jobs at dispensary sales are applicable for people who love to work in public because these jobs compel them to interact with the general public.
The positions in dispensary sales include both for sale of medical and recreational marijuana. The most common career opportunities in the sector are managers and budtenders.
The Dispensary Managers work as the middle management of dispensary sales. Many dispensary sales branches of a bigger company and thus the dispensary manager act as the branch manager of each office.
They manage all the functions within the four walls of the dispensary. For medical marijuana products, their companies that require potential dispensary manager to have medical, nursing or pharmacy degrees.
However, in most cases and in most dispensaries, a dispensary manager is only required to have a bachelor’s degree.
Experience or background in managing retail stores is often a preference but not a mandatory requirement. On average, a dispensary manager can earn from $40,000 to $95,000 annually.
The dispensary manager is often accompanied by assistant managers. This position is the one who supports the general manager in most of the tasks at the dispensary.
They are expected to be knowledgeable to the things in the store. A dispensary manager can earn marijuana salaries around $31,000 to $40,000 per year.
Budtenders are the face of dispensaries. They are considered to be bartenders in the marijuana industry. Budtenders spend most of their day working in front of the customers.
Their primary is to provide good advice about the cannabis products that the customers are asking about. They should be adept with the products at hand.
They also need to be extremely personable so they can ensure the customers have a fantastic experience buying from the dispensary.
A working knowledge of cannabis products is required, and retail and customer service experience are a big plus! You’ll need a social personality to thrive in this position.
As an entry-level position, this job usually pays around $12-16 per hour. The overall budtender marijuana salaries typically range from $25,000 to $35,000 a year.
There are more jobs in this industry of marijuana. There are clerical and accounting jobs. However, these are not very unique to this industry and most of them are also found in other industries.
We are hoping that through this article, we have helped you gained bigger insights on the potential for growth in the marijuana industry. If you are really passionate about marijuana, it is probably best to check out opportunities to make a living from it.