While there are people on both sides speculating that the future of marijuana growing is going to be complicated, there are others who see precedence.
Those who do know that medical marijuana growers salary costs are going to take a lot out of medical marijuana producers, but it could be well worth it.
If you’re a potential grower, this is your chance to show off your skills and to get a job in this fledgling industry.
Here are four things to know about making money in the medical marijuana industry.
1. Growers Make Bank
If you’re interested in growing marijuana, you might be surprised to find out how much you could be making.
For people with experience in agriculture or who have worked in plant biology for years, there are all kinds of jobs that growers can get all over the world. You could be working in a lab, designing the next great hybrid or you could be in the field actually planting seeds.
Depending on what you’re interested in, there are jobs that fit the needs of people with a wide variety of skills. One of the things that are going to make a difference is which state you’re located in.
States where it’s available for medicinal use will have less volume than recreational states but more room to play with plant hybridization.
If you’re looking at jobs, you’ll find rates of pay from $50,000 a year to over $1 million. It really depends on who you work for and what kind of work you’re doing for them.
Look at California, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, and Massachusetts for some of the best jobs around at a high rate of pay. You could even go abroad to Canada, Spain, or Australia to find jobs in the industry. If you’re still in school, take a course in plant biology.
If this isn’t your strong suit, you could try one of the many jobs related to growing marijuana.
2. Dispensary Owner
Once the marijuana is grown and cultivated, it has to go somewhere. One of the main places marijuana goes now is to a dispensary. Dispensaries are often medically licensed facilities where you can find a wide variety of strains that have different characteristics.
Dispensary owners help to distribute the marijuana grown by the professional growers. The best dispensaries have close relationships with the people who provide them with product.
They’ll know everything about the product and be able to help people seek treatment with the right herbs.
While it varies from state to stay, owning and operating a dispensary could be a massively lucrative job, leading to $1 million in profits annually.
Many dispensaries easily sell upwards of $20 million a year in product and services. If you’re running a business that does these kinds of numbers, a $1 million profit is totally reasonable.
For people who love to work with the public and who have strong customer service skills, maybe growing isn’t your thing. That makes owning your own dispensary look pretty appealing.
3. How About Managing a Dispensary
If you’re looking to break into the industry, working in a dispensary is a really great way to start.
For people who don’t have the capital to invest in building one right away, managing a dispensary could be the next best thing. When you manage a dispensary, you learn everything there is to know about marijuana and get connected to the industry.
If you have bigger goals, you can pursue them from your position as dispensary manager. In the meantime, you could earn anywhere from $60,000 a year to $150,000. That’s not a bad salary for someone who has to keep customers happy and sell a product that sells itself.
You’ll be responsible for all of the days to day details of your dispensary. If your company owns several businesses, you may get called to jump from one place to the other as needed. If you have natural leadership skills, you could end up leading to amazing sales records to pay off the space quickly.
If you’re noticing that you’re putting in a lot of effort and it’s leading to more sales, you could work your way up or even branch out and open your own franchise.
Most companies like to promote from within but take your time since it takes years to earn trust.
4. Marijuana Trimmer
The next best thing to being a grower is to be someone who is around to help keep the product healthy. While it’s not the highest paying job in town, it’s a great way to break into the industry.
You’ll make around $30,000 to $60,000 a year starting off, but you’ll be in with all the best growers.
In California, Colorado, Washington state, and Massachusetts, there is a huge market waiting to find trimmers. Trimmers go and the plants to check for problems. They also cut and harvest fully formed buds when it’s time.
This ensures that plants keep producing and staying healthy for years to come.
Marijuana trimmers are the backbone of any marijuana producer so if you find a grow house you like, this is the place to start.
When you’re just getting started, make sure your job and the things that they do are on the up and up. You don’t want to get involved with anything questionable for a job.
It could cost you more than you have while your boss walks away untouched. Make sure your boss follows labor laws and shows you respect for your work. If you’re looking to break into the marijuana industry, click here for more tips.
Medical Marijuana Growers Salary Varies
If you’re not looking to work in the U.S., there are places all over the world who pay a nice medical marijuana growers salary. Getting a visa in one of these countries could be hard unless you can prove your skills to be absolutely vital.
IF you want to help people relieve stress with marijuana, check out this guide to the stress that’s keeping people from getting enough sleep.