Cannabis Industry Jobs

Good evening everyone, so I have fell in love with growing. Naturally I wanted to look into a career change. That was until I realized the little pay these jobs typically pay. The industry is making bookoo bucks and most jobs are like 10-15an hr. The most craziest one near me yesterday I saw was for a hand trimmer ( why a huge corporate grow doesn’t have trimming machines is beyond me) but regardless I was like you know I actually enjoyed trimming my own. THEN I read how much you have to trim everyday and it is 2.5lb by hand every single day in 8 hours. That is nuts to me because I know how long it took me to trim my 12 oz granted it was my first time but still. 2.5lbs a day for $15 an hour seems crazy.
Does anyone work in the industry here and make actual decent money? It seems this industry should be paying a lot more for growing but unless you are the head grower with a horticulture degree most are not worthwhile from a $ standpoint.
Just wanted to point out what I’ve noticed and get anyone’s tips on working in the industry and where if anywhere is the actual $ opportunities at. I want to be involved with the plants but cannot afford to take such a pay cut :frowning:

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I think its just the same as most professions. A degree will get you the top job. The real money in this life is made by entrepreneurs. Find a way to market your talent otherwise your hard work is for someone else.

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Expanding on @Docnraq’s point. Entry level jobs getting entry level pay for the most part. When i see maintenance related jobs pop up in industry i typically apply, knowing that they probably don’t pay enough. Some of them know it because the one that actually called for interview mentioned i was probably “over qualified” within 2 minutes of sitting down with her. Others i haven’t gotten so much as a call for. But if you have unique skills and can explain value in them some will pay decent.

Not sure how much dispensary bud you’ve sampled, but they’re getting what they pay for too. It’s definitely not usually the best weed you’ve had and there is all kinds of room for improvements on stuff like trimming. The ones i have visited do use machines but but there is always a person sorting shake, smalls, and premium that also has responsibility of manicuring those premium buds. I’m sure there are also those hand processing.

Go check glass door and indeed reviews of the power 5 and see if you’re still interested even with reasonable pay. Most of them are shit and all about making them money while you’re pretty much slave labor. If i had the time, i would start visiting the small craft growers and try to sell myself as cheap part-time help willing to help after my regular job for a little bit of money in order to gain experience and learn the business. These people usually don’t have the money to throw around, which makes your pitch more appealing. And has higher opportunity of being a more personal experience.

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I wanted to do this then COVID caused isolation and gas prices prohibit driving or ferry off island.
This forum got found and saved me.

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I looked into joining the cannabis industry. Most jobs are either laborers, drivers, or retail (and you have to layout $110 for a card).

Every now and then there is a job advertised requiring specialized skills.

I think since it has been legal here so long there is no way to break in.

Think about a niche market.

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I have been in the cannabis industry for many years. It’s sad to say but a huge part about it is who you know not what you know. You learn to deal with the shit pay ect. because it’s such a passion, a true labor of love.

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There are alot of colleges scrambling to ramp up college accredited courses geared toward the industry. We have had numerous ag seminars on growing hemp in texas past two years.

My neighbors are young ranchers, 37. They dont care about growing any hemp, but have jumped through all the red tape to be legal hemp growers.

They are betting someday, tx will follow the other 16 states who are recreationally leagal.

They will be already established and way ahead of yhe rush.

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This is kind of personal to me, as Ive never been interviewed for a job I didn’t get. I applied on indeed for a national MJ company which was advertised as facility maintenance tech. I’ve been self employed/small business owner most of my working life, have a long and unique skill set. The only jobs for corporate the world I ever had was a government job in charge of a transfer station. I got a CDL w Hazemat endorsement, multiple training with heavy equipment of all sorts, had three years without an accident …

After a couple phone interviews they seemed very interested. Went to the grow op to meet the manager/ general manager. Multiple huge greenhouses, eb and flow tables, all kinds of cool stuff, very impressive. Having 20 years water treatment experience I was familiar with every part of their plumbing systems. After getting the tour and sitting down answering questions, they had one final question. What was my favorite tool? My answer, my mind. EHHHH, wrong oh red rider.

They both were surprised my answer wasn’t… My smart phone. It was at that point I think I lost the job when I explained I had no need for a smart phone as I rarely even used my flip phone. They were both in their late 20s, early 30s so they probably thought me a dinosaur. What nailed it was when they asked me what I was looking for in a starting wage. I answered 20$ an hour, which was a huge step down for me, but worth the new skills I would acquire. They said right away that 20$ was way above what the job paid.

So I understand all about capitol risk, time/money dynamic, the risk involved in having employees and starting a business. My own opinion, the big dispensaries are just more of the same excessive greed and rot that predominates the TBTF corporations. Modern slavers in drag as providers of wonderful opportunities. Problem being, they prey off the love of Mary Jane many of the workers have. Its really sad, as I walked past the trim room with about 15 dour faces hard at work it reminded me of the scene in new jack city where all those people putting the coke in bags, being watched over by men with guns, Sad

So my 0.0002 cents, for what its worth @GrowingIs4Everyone, find what you can make the most money at, do it as as hard and long as you’re able. In the mean time continue to develop skills related to the things you love. These large MJ corporations are not happy that we as connoisseur growers can provide a superior product at way less cost. Competition irks them. Even if I was young and just starting out, probably the only way to get ahead in the “Industry” of cannabis is to make a better mouse trap and sell the hell out of it.

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Thank you and your thoughts are pretty similar to mine. I have done a lot of research and I have yet to find a grow or dispensary near me with anything over 2 stars out of 5 on indeed. People say the conditions are rough, nobody actually cares or knows about marijuana etc. It is sad because I wanted to potentially grow for a living and have fun while doing it but at least around here that doesn’t seem to be a thing I’m going to do.

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I mentioned my 37 yr old friends. Texas, they have obtained all hemp growing documents to be legal. They will not grow any hemp, they will have most red tape if any needed for the real deal when rec is legslized.

They are steps ahead of the game.

Just my two cents here. All knowledge is equal to all on grow forums.

So lots of master growers to apply for certain industry jobs.
Lots of universities have cannibis degrees available these days

If i was looking for a grower to lead one of my multi million dollar warehouses, what seperates you from the hobby farmer? A degree?

I don’t know the correct answer.

I wonder how Mr. Bergman fills his positions, job postings, word of mouth?

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I want a job as a tester, I’d work cheep!LOL

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If you live in the DC / NOVA area they are hiring cannabis reviewers and pays decent :rofl:

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Not legal in Tx yet colleges adding cannabis degreed programs here. Hmmm thats retooling for the future.

History shows examples of evolution from the on set. Cowboys lost jobs due to railroads, no need for long drives put cowboys out of work. Thus a crime wave then.
Fast forward, tv antennas long gone, most dont have landlines now days, auto workers replaced by automation. To mention some.

Time marches on,

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@GrowingIs4Everyone we just attended the Leafly Expo in Richmond and it was B2B and offered seminars, maybe look into CannaCon in Oct or another Leafly event and get more familiar with those in the Industry and how you can maybe be your own job?? With all the fees and regulations it’s like most things in life-huge barriers to entry for regular folk without serious cash access.

Or just go Old School and be guerilla grower. The Black Market is thriving contrary to popular belief…:wink:

Good luck!!

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In dc we can grow and “gift” up to an ounce legally!

Better to work for yourself if you have that opportunity.

Pop and sell out!

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Yea it’s too much of a grey area though with prop 71 or whatever, not for the buyers but for the sellers lol.

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Up in Canada, it’s been legal for 4 years now. Each province decides how it will distribute weed. In BC, all “legal” weed sales thought dispensaries are supplied by the government. Everything is pre-weighed and sealed. Rarely is there a place where you can see, smell, or touch what you are buying. Random crap-shoot on brand names. The government only buys from LP’s (licensed producers), and getting one of those licenses is brutally hard and expensive.
Some of the “farm” jobs pay $16/hr, which up here is just over minimum wage. Even tho they can’t get workers because of Covid and nobody wants to work anymore. I just retired and looked into one of those jobs. You work long and hard hours for squat!
The only job I did see that I really liked was for a bud-tenderer at a dispensary. Not what you’d think, you don’t weigh up from jars like the old days before legalization (BC, especially Vancouver, had pseudo-legal dispensaries long before actual legalization. The cops weren’t interested in shutting them down, more interested in busting fentanyl dealers). Anyways, for $16/hr to sit and sell weed behind a counter, or do deliveries in their vehicles/their gas, that’s the next job for me! I just have to complete and pass the Selling It Right course before I can apply. I talked to the lady who ran the store and she said they’d need more people once the students went back to university in the Fall (so like now!).
But not an industry the average person can get rich in, I only want to do it to keep busy and for extra holiday money. Until I turn 65 (I’m 58 now) and get additional old folks benefits, my work pension will be a little tight to live on, but doable.

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I wouldn’t even mess with breaking into the cannabis industry right now. It’s a whored out industry right now and is going to do nothing but get worse. If you want to be a owner operator of a grow and dispensary and have the capital and not need investors your in the best position possible in the industry, or be on the supply side if you can stomach the complete and utter stupidly of your customers. Last few years of my working career as a manufactures rep for pumps, boilers, chillers, humidity control, hvac, ect, ect. In just a few short years I was done with messing with the investors, grow owners and there complete and total idiot engineers. Not to mention investigations into illegal grows, out of stater’s and some of the insane contract law that morons want to try and bs you with.

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As of now 17 states and DC with legal recreational use. Not even half, a third of the US is legal to grow.

From an old rsnchers view, my friends, small guys, 25-30 mama cows reinvented the way they marketed cattle to a more health conscious younger generation. Grass rasied, organic beef. Same competition, retooled approach.

I see more things here than before. As mentioned 50 states will happen, so find your niche, hemp teas, banana kush soap, candlesof famous weeds, something, you guys have too much crestivity to sit by and watch

Get in front.

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Thank you guys I appreciate all the input. I’m in management and started looking into dispensary management jobs because I can make the $ I need and I have experience in retail management ( and a degree). I don’t think I’ll be able to get into the plant side because I cannot make enough for me anyways and the requirements for some of them are just crazy like the hand trimming 2.5lbs a day lol no thanks.
I may look into small grows and getting my foot in somewhere but the big main corporate ones around me aren’t going to happen.

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