The scrap metal trader — buying and selling metal materials from businesses and individuals.
As a Junior Metal Dealer, you buy and sell scrap metal and metal materials. You might work at a scrapyard, recycling operation, or metal trading company. The role involves evaluating materials, negotiating prices, and conducting transactions with sellers and buyers.
Your day involves assessing incoming metal, negotiating purchase prices, managing inventory, and selling to processors or end users. Understanding metal types, grades, and market pricing is essential. Building relationships with regular sellers creates consistent supply.
The hardest part is accurate material evaluation under time pressure. You need to quickly assess metal type, quality, and weight to offer fair prices that still allow profit. Mistakes in assessment affect profitability. The people who thrive here develop keen material evaluation skills and enjoy the negotiation aspects of trading.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
The scrap metal trader — buying and selling metal materials from businesses and individuals.
Median pay for a Junior Metal Dealer is about $67K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $38K to $134K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Persuasion, and Negotiation.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 0.3% through 2034, with roughly 1.3 million people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Metal Dealer, Sales Specialist, and Senior Sales Specialist.
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