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Looking to enter one of the best paying jobs in precious metals? That may prove to be a good choice. Precious metals like gold and silver have been around for millennia. And their denomination as a store of value since their discovery means they will continue to be around. It makes sense then, that starting a job in precious metals could lead to a long and fruitful career.
We are going to go through the top 5 best paying jobs in precious metals that we have managed to research from publicly available information. Precious metals jobs aren’t limited to gold and gold-adjacent industries, as many precious metals jobs work closely with other metals such as silver, platinum, and even palladium.
Precious Metals Broker – Average Salary $150,934
A precious metals broker is top of our list of the best paying jobs in precious metals. Many brokers also earn large bonuses on top of their base salary. According to Glassdoor bonuses for this position are an average of $50 thousand.
A precious metals broker has the following tasks and duties:
- Evaluate the value of items in precious metals, gold, silver, platinum, etc.
- Make purchases and sales on behalf of the company and clients.
- Most brokers will trade in bullion coins and ingots, although some will also trade in jewelry.
- Stay up to date with the spot market prices of the precious metals they trade.
To become a precious metals broker, you will need a license. Gold and other precious metals are considered commodities. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regulates these licenses, for which you need to pass a Series 3 exam. The exam process is overseen by FINRA.
Typically for brokers, a company hires a trainee to allow that person to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become fully independent. The company would also sponsor you to take the Series 3 exam as required by FINRA.
Precious Metals Consultant – Average Salary $101,036
Second place in the ranking of best paying precious metals jobs goes to the role of precious metals consultant. The average reported by Glassdoor is just over $101 thousand, but the industry also demands a hefty average bonus of $43 thousand.
Your duties and responsibilities as a precious metals consultant include the following:
- Making precise estimations of precious metals demand and supply by country and by sector.
- Cooperating with internal peers who are responsible for other countries to guarantee smooth data series.
- Prepare conference materials such as presentations, reports, charts, and tables.
- Participate in conferences or other meetings within the precious metals industry.
- Customer relationship management of prospective and current precious metals clients.
- Advanced Excel and database skills.
Some pertinent experience is likely necessary to pick up one of the jobs as a precious metals consultant. Previous experience as a commodity analyst may also be useful. In either case, you are going to need to hone your communication and data management skills.
Precious Metals Sales Agent – Average Salary $75,504
Precious metals sales agents earn an average of just over $75,000, while the top 33% of these sales agents earn an average of $90,605, according to Comparably. No data is available as to the average amount of bonuses.
To enter a role as a precious metals sales agent you will need a variety of skills listed below:
- Previous experience in sales or customer service, and a jewelry background is a big advantage
- Ability to create bonds with customers
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Confident and comfortable selling over the phone
- Customer focused delivering a superior customer experience
- Positive attitude, with strong ethic, honesty, and integrity
- Good organization, able to work under pressure in a busy environment selling and buying jewelry, coins, watches, gold, silver, etc.
- Deep understanding and knowledge of the products you deal in
To become a top earner in one of the best paying jobs in precious metals you’ll need to maximize all your talents and skills as a precious metals sales agent.
Metalworking Specialist – Average Salary $73,339
According to ZipRecruiter the average salary nationwide for a metalworking specialist is $73,339. With the top 10 percent earning an average of $90,500. While the bottom 25 percent make an average of $56,500.
If you’re thinking of landing one of the best paying jobs in precious metals as a metalworking specialist these are the duties and responsibilities:
- Determine the best temperature and method of the melting process
- Understand the chemical composition of products
- Produce ornamental objects
- Design, and reshape jewelry
- Become a trader and an artist
- Provide technical support to your peers in other departments
Often metalworking specialists do not have a qualification from a higher education institution. But they do have talent, dedication, and the necessary skills to enter this field.
Jewelry Designer – Average Salary $56,460
The average salary for a jewelry designer according to PayScale is $56,460 annually. However, things change a lot depending on experience. Designers with more years on the job, and probably greater skills can command higher salaries.
Breaking down average salaries for jewelry designers:
- Entry level salaries, less than 1 year of experience $36,312
- 1 year – 4 years experience $49,510
- 5 years – 9 years experience $66,289
- 10 years – 19 years experience $67,671
- 20 years plus experience $59,155
Of all the best paying jobs in precious metals, this one is definitely the most creative. Get ready to have the following duties as a jewelry designer:
- Research market trends and tastes and implement them in your designs.
- Work with clients to achieve their desired design goals
- Complete jewelry designs for clients and company
- Use sketches to convey ideas to clients and the company
- Use 3D computer-aided design software such as Rhino or Photoshop
If you have the creativity and talent, you’ll need to be able to show it to a prospective employer. So, have a portfolio of work ready for presentation. Many employers also look for a qualification from an art school or previous designer experience.
Gold IRA Representative/Broker – Average Salary $100,000+
As a broker specializing in gold IRA accounts, you’ll be in charge of helping retirement account owners invest in physical precious metals through an existing or previous retirement plan. Many Americans don’t know that it’s possible to use an IRA or 401k to invest in metals tax-free, and your job as a broker is to guide them through this process.
To do this job properly, you’ll need to be familiar with not only the IRS rules when it comes to rollovers or transfers, but also the symbiotic relationship between IRA custodians, depositories, and gold wholesalers. Companies like Augusta, and Noble Gold are known to actively hire for these positions.
As a gold IRA representative and broker, you will generally be responsible for carrying out the following essential tasks:
- Generating sales leads for precious metals IRA companies
- Establishing a deep understanding of IRS rules and guidelines regarding tax-advantaged retirement accounts
- Communicating the benefits and associated risks of IRA investing to prospects and potential customers
- Helping investors roll over funds from existing IRAs and 401(k) accounts into self-directed gold IRAs
- Assisting with basic customer inquiries regarding the order statuses and fulfillment
- Acting as a liaison between the investor and the precious metals IRA company
Although this position lacks a formalized pay scale, it’s a potentially highly lucrative position for enterprising individuals and “people persons” who have a broad understanding of financial rules and guidelines. Gold IRA representatives earn a commission on sales generated, and can even earn income from verified leads without even having to secure a sale.
Conclusion
The best paid jobs in precious metals span a wide variety of roles, with each one necessitating a different slate of skills and talents. If you are more of a commercial and sales-minded person that can create self-drive independently, you may be a great match as a precious metals broker or a gold IRA representative. If you are a creative person with lots of imagination, on the other hand, maybe you would be a great fit as a jewelry designer.
Whatever career path you choose to undertake, always plan ahead and save a part of your earnings systematically. Young investors may want to choose a riskier portfolio, but regardless of your age, you should always take advantage of retirement plans for your investments.
By opening a self-directed IRA, you can invest in a wide range of assets, including alternative assets rather than being limited to stocks and funds. IRAs allow you to save and invest in a tax-free environment until you retire.
Many companies offer their specialized services to help you set up, run, and administer your self-directed IRA. We have found some of the best in the market, you can read their reviews here.
Gino D'Alessio is a Broker/Dealer with over twenty years experience in various OTC markets such as Bonds, FX and Derivatives. Currently a Financial Markets and Investments Writer & Analyst
