Is Precious Metals a Good Career Path in 2024?

Last updated on August 11th, 2024 at 07:44 pm

Considering a career shift or have you just graduated from college and are in search of high-paying jobs in the labor market? There are good opportunities for you and one of those lies in the precious metals industry.

The precious metal industry is where you can get established for a long time, and enjoy a high salary income in addition to many perks and benefits such as health insurance packages.

The precious metals industry is a lucrative one with precious metals always in high demand in the market. And this is not limited to the US alone, the demand for precious metals is high in all nations in the world.

Precious and luxurious metals like Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, and also other valuable gemstones are always in high demand.

How to Become a Precious Metal Worker?

How can you become a precious metal worker? Does working in the precious metal industry require a particular degree or educational requirement?

If you are interested in working in the precious metal industry, you have got to be prepared for it. It is a highly regarded and respected profession with specialists in many industries, including jewellery, antique restoration, furniture production, mining, and blacksmithing. The good thing about this industry is that you can come from any educational background.

Qualification into the Precious metal industry does not necessarily require a college degree, although any academic or practical design experience is universally valuable and can position you for a higher, managerial positions.

Many new metalworkers enter the field as apprenticeship, and internship offers, and they take them through practical training to get valuable experience and networking benefits within the metalworking community.

How Many Jobs are Available in Precious Metals

The precious metals industry like many others including the capital goods industry and durable and non-durable industry also offers a wide range of job positions, and some of the most important and popular positions include:

Precious Metal Worker
Precious Metal Broker
Goldsmith
Quality Control Specialist
Metals Production Specialist
Precious Metals Advisor
Analyst
Jewellery and Coin Specialist

Precious Metal Workers Salary

Average salary: $48,050 per year

Average hourly wage: $23 per hour

Entry-level Precious Metal Workers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $26,050 to $32,650 per year or $13 to $16 per hour.

Salary by experience	Annual	Hourly
Highest (Top 10%)	$77,330	$37
Senior (Top 25%)	$56,730	$27
Median	$41,900	$20
Junior (Bottom 25%)	$32,650	$16
No experience (Bottom 10%)	$26,050	$13

Top 10 highest paying industries for Precious Metal Workers based on their average annual salary.

Salary by industry	Annual	Hourly
Nondepository Credit Intermediation	$64880	$31.19
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$58580	$28.16
Management of Companies and Enterprises	$50280	$24.17
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores	$48520	$23.33
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$43260	$20.80
Employment Services	$43210	$20.78
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$42740	$20.55
Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance	$41710	$20.05
Nonferrous Metal Production and Processing	$39310	$18.90
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	$37960	$18.25

Top 10 largest employers of Precious Metal Workers

Where can Precious Metal Workers work? Here is a table showing the top 10 largest employers of Precious Metal Workers including the average salary in that industry.

Employers	Total Employed	Annual Salary	Hourly Wages
Jewellery, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores	7670	$48520	$23.33
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	5150	$43260	$20.80
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	2940	$58580	$28.16
Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance	750	$41710	$20.05
Specialized Design Services	450	$37720	$18.14
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	240	$42740	$20.55
Nondepository Credit Intermediation	230+	$64880	$31.19
Employment Services	100+	$43210	$20.78
Management of Companies and Enterprises	100+	$50280	$24.17
Nonferrous Metal Production and Processing		$39310	$18.90

Precious Metal Worker job market by states in the US

State Name		Employed Precious Metal Workers
New York		4,580
California		2,940
Texas		2,900
Florida		1,250
Illinois		1,000
Pennsylvania		760
Ohio		750
New Jersey		620
Michigan		590
New Mexico		570
Massachusetts		560
Arizona		550
Rhode Island		550
North Carolina		480
Louisiana		470
Georgia		440
Washington		380
Utah		380
Alabama		360
Indiana		350
Maryland		340
Oregon		330
South Carolina		320
Wisconsin		320
Colorado		300
Missouri		290
Oklahoma		280
Minnesota		270
Arkansas		230
Hawaii		220
Tennessee		210
Iowa		200
Kansas		180
Nebraska		160
Connecticut		130
Nevada		130
Kentucky		110
South Dakota		110
Montana		110
Maine		100
New Hampshire		90
North Dakota		90
Vermont		70
Mississippi		70
Idaho		60
West Virginia		60
Virgin Islands, U.S.		40

Best Paying Jobs in Precious Metals

1. Precious Metal Worker

A precious metal worker deals with precious metals such as gold, silver, iridium, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, platinum, and objects made from those metals. Precious metal workers are found in industries such as jewellery, antique restoration, furniture production, mining, and blacksmithing.

According to Payscale.com, the average pay for precious metal workers is $19.89 per hour.

Is Precious Metals a Good Career Path in 2024?

2. Precious Metal Broker

Precious metals brokers are second-hand dealers whose job is to engage in the business of buying new or used precious metals for resale.

Their duties involve, estimating an item’s value based on retail prices or market values of precious metals or stones, offering customers cash while holding the items as collateral.

The average metal broker/trader’s salary is put at $110,000 per year by Payscale.com

3. Goldsmith

Goldsmiths are metal workers specialising in gold and other precious metals. Essential job duties and responsibilities of a Goldsmith are shaping metal, soldering pieces together, repairing jewellery, resetting stones, changing ring sizes, cleaning and polishing jewellery, and grading precious stones.

In the United States, the average Goldsmith salary is $45,376 as of Feb. 2022, according to salary.com but the salary range typically falls between $37,163 and $65,777.

4. Quality Control Specialist

How much does a Quality Assurance Specialist make in the United States? The average Quality Assurance and Control Specialist I salary in the United States is $62,309 as of February 25, 2022,

Quality Control Specialist is responsible for:

Product Tests and Assessments.
Identify Product Defects. …
Recording and Report Issues. …
Support Process Improvements. …
Make Necessary Repairs.

5. Metals Production Specialist

Steels and metal production specialists’ roles involve…

the processing of ore to produce steel;
the production of alloys with the required properties;
the selection of the method and temperature of the smelting process;
the determination of the chemical composition of the product.

The average Metal production and Process Specialist’s salary is $68,106 as of February 2022 as reported by salary.com.

6. Precious Metals Advisor Consultant

A metal advisor or consultant works with clients to closely evaluate market timings and determine which metals position is best for you right now.

The estimated total pay for a Precious Metals Consultant is $71,687 per year in the United States.

7. Jewelry and Coin Specialist

Responsibilities include:

Providing excellent customer service.

Testing, buying and selling Precious Metals, Coins, Currency & Collectables.

Providing accurate appraisals and payouts.

A Jewelry and Coin Specialist typically earns between $40,000 and $60,000 per year in the US.

Is Precious Metals a Good Career Path?

Currently, there are about 40,000 precious metal workers in the United States. While the rate of employment of metalworkers in the job market is expected to shrink by -6.6% between 2016 and 2026, as technology advances, there will be more ways to invest in gold and as a result, the prices will continue to increase. Thereby, creating many vacant positions to accommodate new intakes.

If you want to pursue a career in the precious metal industry, you however do not need to have years of work experience or a high qualification college degree, although, a degree and work experience can be an advantage to quickly get the job.