Sales and Related · Holland code ECS
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
Buy and sell securities or commodities in investment and trading firms, or provide financial services to businesses and individuals. May advise customers about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, commodities, and market conditions.
Also called: Broker, Equity Trader, Financial Advisor, Financial Consultant, Commodities Broker, Investment Representative, Investments Advisor, Investments Specialist.
O*NET 41-3031.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $78,660
- Middle half earn $56,540 to $129,950. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 55% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +3% · As fast as average
- 514,500 jobs in 2024, projected 531,600. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Make bids or offers to buy or sell securities.
- Monitor markets or positions.
- Agree on buying or selling prices at optimal levels for clients.
- Keep accurate records of transactions.
- Buy or sell stocks, bonds, commodity futures, foreign currencies, or other securities on behalf of investment dealers.
- Complete sales order tickets and submit for processing of client-requested transactions.
- Report all positions or trading results.
- Interview clients to determine clients' assets, liabilities, cash flow, insurance coverage, tax status, or financial objectives.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
- Monitoring3.6 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.5 / 5
- Speaking3.5 / 5
- Active Learning3.5 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
- Economics and Accounting3.9 / 5
- English Language3.8 / 5
- Mathematics3.7 / 5
- Sales and Marketing3.7 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.5 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic4
- Investigative25
- Artistic5
- Social35
- Enterprising85
- Conventional71
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- financial broker · DE Finanzmakler/Finanzmaklerin · FR conseiller en investissements financiers/conseillère en investissements financiers
- foreign exchange broker · DE Devisenmakler/Devisenmaklerin · FR négociateur en devises/négociatrice en devises
- mutual fund broker · DE Investmentfondskaufmann/Investmentfondskauffrau · FR courtier en organismes de placement collectif - OPCVM/courtière en organismes de placement collectif - OPCVM
- securities broker · DE Wertpapiermakler/Wertpapiermaklerin · FR négociateur en valeurs mobilières/négociatrice en valeurs mobilières
- stock broker · DE Börsenmakler/Börsenmaklerin · FR négociateur en actions/négociatrice en actions
- financial trader · DE Trader am Finanzmarkt/Traderin am Finanzmarkt · FR vendeur d’instruments financiers/vendeuse d’instruments financiers
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Brokers (3531)67,900 employed
- Business associate professionals n.e.c. (3549)104,700 employed
- Financial accounts managers (3534)140,400 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “金融営業職業従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥326,200
- Middle half earn ¥275,000 to ¥423,000 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 153,610
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.26. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (41-3031).
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