Salary
Average Salary: $45,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,878,660
If you're looking to get rich in this field, you should also be the type of person who enjoys playing high-stakes poker on a table that's hanging from a helicopter over a pit of laser-toothed sharks.
Your average antiques dealer can expect to need to be careful with money. In fact, even an experienced dealer is likely to only make around $45,000 a year (source).
The biggest dealerships are the ones that can afford to buy and sell the most valuable pieces, so all that's left for the independent dealers is to spend all their time searching for a good deal. Needless to say, scrounging up and maintaining a respectable inventory is no cakewalk, though there's always time for cake with your highly flexible work hours.
If you have a business degree, you're likely to do better than you would without one…but this business is really all about being able to attract high-class clients. If you're well connected in the world of big-money antiques enthusiasts, then the sky is the limit. Most likely, though, you'll either end up salaried at one of the big dealerships, or on the grind independently. If you work independently, then your take-home just depends on how resourceful you can be.
If you start your career as an antiques dealer, there are many roads you can take. The experience you gain successfully trading art and antiques qualifies you for a great variety of positions, especially if you supplement it with more school. Working for a university or in high-end sales may offer heftier annual blocks of cheddar.