What kinds of marijuana industry jobs are there?
The medical cannabis industry has grown to include many career opportunities within various fields. Several of these fields include sales, customer service, marketing and research careers. You can find some examples of these below:
Jobs in customer service
Many available entry-level roles in the medical marijuana industry include jobs in customer service positions. For instance, cashiers, budtenders and retail and sales associates in dispensaries are typically the employees that greet and communicate with customers visiting a medical dispensary.
Sales, marketing and communication roles
Sales and marketing jobs in the cannabis industry can include roles like sales representatives who help cannabis product manufacturers sell products to dispensaries. Marketing jobs in the industry are also varied, including roles that promote and advertise company products to dispensaries and educate the medical community about medical marijuana products.
Research and development roles
Within the medical cannabis industry are jobs that contribute to the expanding knowledge base on medical marijuana. Chemists, botanists, biologists and even cultivators and extractors are all examples of important roles in the development and research behind medical cannabis products on the market.
Management and supervisory roles
Dispensary managers and other supervisory roles in the production of medical cannabis goods are examples of jobs you can find in this field of the industry. Typically, management roles require employees in the marijuana industry to build up several years of experience before advancing to these types of higher-level roles. For instance, a dispensary budtender or cashier can gain experience over time and advance to a management position in their establishment.
Finance and accounting roles
Bookkeepers, accountants, financial plannersand other financial professionals can also find medical marijuana industry jobs. For instance, dispensaries rely on accountants to help monitor and track revenue and expenses. If you have a background in finance, the marijuana industry can be an excellent industry to explore.
Client-facing and executive roles
Consultants, company executives and business owners are several additional examples of roles within the medical cannabis industry. Product consultants, for example, meet with dispensary clients to help them choose which products to stock in their stores for their customers. Business executives who work for cannabis brands make decisions and plan for the growth and development of their companies through product sales and distribution.
Careers in the cannabis industry
There are many opportunities to find medical marijuana industry jobs. For the most up-to-date salary information from Indeed, click on the national average salary link for each job title below. The following list includes 15 roles for you to explore:
National average salary: $30,378 per year
Primary duties: Budtenders work in dispensaries or retail stores where customers purchase medical and recreational cannabis products. They help customers select appropriate products, consult with customers on various types of cannabis products (like edibles and oils) and answer questions customers have about both medical and recreational marijuana use. Budtenders are usually responsible for maintaining dispensary inventories, performing transactions, up-selling store products and guiding customers through their shopping experience.
Related: What Is the Budtender?
National average salary: $30,651 per year
Primary duties: Security guards are responsible for keeping properties secure. They'll typically patrol the property, inspect the equipment, buildings and different entry points and monitor surveillance equipment. Security guards who work in the cannabis industry may perform additional tasks like verifying identifications inside dispensaries, monitoring traffic in retail sites and keeping growing and packaging facilities secure.
Related: Learn About Being a Security Guard
National average salary: $33,556 per year
Primary duties: Delivery drivers and personnel are integral to the cannabis industry because these entry-level employees help customers who otherwise cannot visit dispensaries or storefronts in person. Delivery personnel will deliver cannabis products that customers order from the dispensary to the customer's home.
Related: Learn About Being a Delivery Driver
National average salary: $39,030 per year
Primary duties: In larger dispensaries and commercial settings, retail sales associates work with customers and business clients to sell cannabis products for both recreational and medical use. In dispensaries, sales associates are responsible for performing sales transactions by guiding customers through the buying process, taking payment, recording transactions and maintaining a cash register. In commercial settings, retail sales associates may work for organizations that sell products to dispensaries.
National average salary: $39,865 per year
Primary duties: An extraction technician processes hemp and cannabis products in a laboratory setting to separate and isolate various chemical compounds from cannabis for different uses and applications. These individuals collect plant samples, test the potency of cannabis strains, record and document data and operate and maintain the lab equipment they use for performing their jobs. Extraction technicians may work with chemists who assist them with applications involving cannabis plants.
National average salary: $44,036 per year
Primary duties: Store managers for medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries generally take on many of the same responsibilities as a retail store manager. For instance, dispensary managers might oversee hiring and training staff, assigning work tasks, organizing schedules, tracking store budgets and interacting with suppliers, executives and others involved in the operation and processes of the dispensary.
Related: Learn About Being a General Manager
National average salary: $45,562 per year
Primary duties: Marketing specialists working in marijuana industry roles typically work with companies and brands to support the sales growth of the products they sell. Specialists will analyze marketing data to determine where dispensaries are more applicable, what types of cannabis products customers are buying, where gaps are within a brand's market and what type of customers a brand is more likely to sell its products to. Additionally, marketing specialists can work for individual dispensaries and cannabis product brands to help these businesses reach more customers and increase their revenue.
8. Grower
National average salary: $52,785 per year
Primary duties: Growers cultivate, care for, and harvest cannabis plants and typically work in growing and cultivation facilities, although some master growers own and operate their own businesses. Growers are responsible for planting and maintaining the health of the plants they grow, and they also harvest and prepare plants for shipment and transport to companies that purchase from the growing facilities. To become a grower in the marijuana industry, these professionals must usually hold a state license allowing them to cultivate marijuana.
9. Accountant
National average salary: $54,679 per year
Primary duties: Accountants in the cannabis industry work in a variety of business settings to support the financial activities of dispensaries, companies, cultivation facilities, suppliers and other establishments that sell and produce cannabis products. Accountants track and record transactions, keep records of assets and liabilities for tax purposes, monitor and document incoming revenue and ensure the timely payment of business expenses.
Related: Learn About Being an Accountant
National average salary: $59,969 per year
Primary duties: Quality assurance (QA) inspectors are responsible for ensuring the compliance of many aspects of the cannabis production, distribution and sales processes. Several key areas of the industry that QA inspectors are responsible for monitoring and documenting include developing QA practices and technical procedures and policies for cannabis companies, auditing and inspecting companies' cannabis products for quality, performing GAP analyses, working with regulatory agencies, reviewing companies' procedures for processing cannabis and making recommendations for improvement to cannabis processes and risk management systems.
11. Sales consultant
National average salary: $67,933 per year
Primary duties: Sales consultants are responsible for reaching out to potential customers who they think would purchase their companies' products. In the cannabis industry, sales consultants may meet with dispensary owners and businesses whose customers might use cannabis products that larger cultivation and processing facilities sell. Sales consultants may also assist clients in selecting optimal products to make available to customers, all while helping these companies meet business goals.
Related: Learn About Being a Sales Consultant
12. Brand ambassador
National average salary: $70,533 per year
Primary duties: Brand ambassadors for cannabis companies are representatives of the brand or organization they work for and promote their companies to the public. Brand ambassadors will communicate with the public through events, public relations meetings and by raising awareness of the brand's products and services to acquire dispensary and business clients as well as individual customers.
Related: Learn About Being a Brand Ambassador
13. Chemist
National average salary: $75,577 per year
Primary duties: Chemists work in laboratory settings to test and process cannabis plants where they extract and separate the chemical compounds found in cannabis for various applications. Chemists in the marijuana industry may often work with extractors and master cultivators to process and ensure the purity of the chemicals within the cannabis products they approve for distribution.
National average salary: $75,918 per year
Primary duties: Business consultants in the marijuana industry consult with and provide advice to businesses that sell cannabis-related products. For instance, dispensaries may meet with a business consultant to identify the most effective ways to provide the products and services their unique customer markets need. Business consultants for cannabis companies may also provide information and counsel on the processes for getting licensed, staying in compliance with regulations and staying current with industry practices.
National average salary: $83,140 per year
Primary duties: Product consultants in the cannabis industry may perform many of the same essential duties as a sales consultant, however, they focus more on which products to stock in dispensary inventories, which new and upcoming products will likely be successful and what outlets to use to market new products and educate staff and clients about these products.
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