Energy Broker Career
Energy Broker Career
The Real Poop
Ready to get truly amped about a career? Well look no further; a career as an energy broker can be quite shockingly rewarding. And, if you harness your own power when you deal in power-dealing, the sky is the limit in this job.
Debate team captains and expert negotiators should perk up at the thought of this career. Verbal jousting is a huge part of the job and a great skill to continually develop as you move up the ranks.
You'll spend your days negotiating prices for something everyone needs—and you'll keep a little for yourself, of course. All of this is pretty market-dependent, too, so keep an eye on trading prices and make sure to hone some above average math skills.
Like pretty much every other job, you'll have to pay your dues to get to a comfortable lifestyle. The pay is fairly low when starting out, but stick with it―the median annual salary is just over $50,000 per year (source). The potential to make much, much more, however, is quite high.
The top energy brokers in the country can make a whopping six-figure salary every year. In order to get to that point, many brokers start out working for a brokerage service, then venture out on their own. If you're willing to start lean and grow your skills, becoming your own boss eventually is a very real possibility.
In many ways, being an energy broker is just like being a stock or real estate broker. You'll work with the fluctuating prices of the market, wheeling and dealing to make margin profits for your selling and buying. In college, you'll want to major in business, for which you'll learn about the energy market, how sales work in that sector, and contract management.
There are tons of business schools out there with a wide range of tuition costs. While top business schools like Stanford are totally nice, you'll save lots of cash by choosing a top-fifty ranked school like Michigan State or Georgia Tech (source).
After getting a bachelor's degree and taking a job with an energy brokerage firm, you'll spend your days helping clients get the energy supply they need at the lowest cost possible. The more money you help your clients save, the more you can earn in raises and those always-welcome year-end bonus checks.
If you're unfamiliar, bonus checks aren't exactly like participation awards you got back in T-ball or vacation Bible school. You'll have to save your clients some serious money in order to earn a bonus. But, when you consider that your clients are large businesses and municipalities, simply keeping their energy costs from rising a few percentage points over the next year amounts to a lot of cash.
Helping them keep that money in their pocket is a sure ticket to lining your own with those beautiful greenbacks.
Want more good news? Energy brokerage is a growing field and is considered a green job. Why? Because helping your clients find more efficient energy sources is a great way to help them save money and meet ever-stricter EPA guidelines. It's what you might call a win-win-win situation. One for your client, one for the supplier, and one for you.