Working in the Cannabis Industry: How Much Do Dispensary Jobs Make?

The marijuana business is one of the fastest-growing job markets in the US today. With annual sales in the billions, and more states legalizing medical and recreational marijuana usage, the cannabis industry is expected to create over 400,000 jobs by 2021.

If you’re a job seeker looking at jobs within the marijuana field, working at a dispensary should be on your list of potential careers. How much do dispensary jobs make compared to others within the field? Let’s break it down.

Jobs Within the Marijuana Field

Within every field, there is generally a myriad of opportunities that require different levels of education and experience. The marijuana industry is no different. Let’s take a look at the main positions you can expect to see when looking into this career field.

Grower

A marijuana grower is responsible for growing the plants. This is one of the most sought after positions because it can be incredibly lucrative, but it’s also one that takes a lot of education and jumping through legal hoops, depending on the state you live in.

Budtender

Budtenders are responsible for picking the strains to give medical marijuana patients and patient education. It requires a certain level of education, both in common medical ailments and the strains themselves.

Trimmer

As the name implies, this job entails working with the plants grown by a grower. Most of these jobs are hourly wages that are fairly competitive.

Edibles Chef

An edibles chef works with the plant to create lines of edibles for dispensaries. A culinary education of some sort is generally a prerequisite for this position.

Dispensary Owner/Operator

A dispensary owner is one of the best paid and most sought after jobs within this field. A dispensary operator owns the facility where marijuana is sold in various forms, both medically and recreationally.

Dispensary Manager

The manager of a dispensary manages the day to day operations of the facility. These jobs are often inside hires from those who have previously worked at the facility as trimmers or budtenders.

How Much Do Dispensary Jobs Make?

Out of all these jobs, you’ll often find the highest salaries for those working within a dispensary. This is even more true when the same facility both grows and distributes the product.

Dispensary owners generally earn over one million annually, with some larger dispensary owners earning even more with between $10 and $20 million in sales.

The managers of these dispensaries earn, on average, between $60,000 and $150,000 annually, depending on the size of the facility.

Is Working in a Dispensary Right For You?

If you’ve been wondering, “How much do dispensary jobs make and is it the right career move for me?”, hopefully this gave you a little insight into the opportunities within the field.

Remember, many of these jobs require some kind of education or training. If you’re looking to get into the marijuana field, you may need to be ready to start at the bottom and work your way up into this exciting field!

Looking for more information on different career fields? Check out the rest of the articles on this blog!