If you love marijuana, perhaps you have thought about becoming a budtender. After all, it is arguably the dream job for the weed enthusiast. Now that the industry is ready for a boom period, it needs all the qualified staff it can get.

As it happens, a budtender’s role is one of the most accessible jobs within the industry. But what does the job entail? More importantly, how do you gain the necessary qualifications?

What Is a Budtender?

As a budtender, you are a professional cannabis expert and work behind a marijuana dispensary counter. If you’ve been in a dispensary, you’ll realize that you spend about 90% of your time interacting with the budtender. They are passionate about weed, extremely knowledgeable about the products, and genuinely enjoy providing exceptional customer service.

The budtender job description includes an emphasis on people skills. It is one of the best roles in the cannabis industry because it enables you to build direct relationships with customers. Contrary to the ‘lazy stoner’ stereotype, a budtender is a talkative, personable, helpful, and hardworking individual.

If you want to become a budtender, you need a real passion for marijuana. You must listen carefully to a patient’s needs and provide them with recommendations. It is admittedly impossible to know everything about the plant. However, budtenders must know the most popular strains and new products such as vaporizers and concentrates.

Knowledge Is Power for Budtenders

You will receive a lot of training. However, you will have knowledge gaps when you start your budtender career. Dedicated budtenders usually go above and beyond and read far more information than what the course requires. We recommend doing the following to get the most out of your research:

Sign up for as many cannabis industry blogs, newsletters, websites, and mailing lists as possible.
Read books by respected industry authors such as Jorge Cervantes, Julie Holland, Ed Rosenthal, etc.
Look for cannabis books on recommended reading lists in universities.
Attend important industry conferences.
Network on popular cannabis social media platforms (like WayofLeaf!)

You must also have the following knowledge:

How every single product on the dispensary’s shelf is created. This includes information on where it was grown and harvested, how the cannabinoids were extracted if you are selling tinctures and capsules, etc.
An ability to determine the quality of the products.
What prices your competitors charge for the products.

The best budtenders in the U.S. are in tune with the latest trends. You can follow suit by reading industry blogs and checking out relevant social media profiles.

Advanced Knowledge Is Essential to Reach the Top

High-quality budtenders will know the answers to complex questions like:

What is dewaxed shatter?
Why is this 37% THC test result untrustworthy?
What are the differences between CO2 and BHO extraction?
Which strains are winning current competitions such as the Cannabis Cup?
What are the latest results from medical marijuana studies?

Successful budtenders are also outstanding storytellers. They can tell powerful true stories, which allow them to connect with customers on a personal level. Each story is relatively short and tailored to each patient. It focuses on how the marijuana product in question could positively affect the customer’s life.

For example: “This sativa seriously gave me more energy than three cups of coffee, without the jitters. I used to spend an hour each morning just trying to summon the wherewithal to move. Now, I can wake up, go for a quick run, and shower before going to work. It helps me stay energized at work, and I still feel great when I get home…”

However, you should only recommend products that are genuinely likely to work. You will give your dispensary a bad name if you try to force sales. There is simply no need for fabricated information in the largely “self-promoting” cannabis industry.

Is It Hard to Get Budtender Jobs?

If you have the requisite budtender license, you have a good employment chance depending on where you live. The marijuana industry will create over 414,000 jobs by 2021.

The best cannabis industry sectors for jobs, in descending order, are:

Ancillary Services
Dispensaries
Wholesale Cultivators
Infused Product Makers
Testing Labs

The role of a budtender is one of the most in-demand positions at present. Dispensaries need to hire qualified and personable budtenders. These employees are the organization’s face and ultimately provide advice on choosing the right strain and taking the correct dosage. Budtenders also make sure that patients receive the right product safety advice.

You should theoretically find a lot of options in legal cannabis states. Whether you’re looking for budtender jobs in Colorado, Oregon, or Los Angeles, this is the case. You may even have some luck searching for budtender jobs on Craigslist.

What Employers Look For

However, dispensaries don’t hire anyone that walks through their doors. The industry is desperate to shed the ‘stoner stereotype.’ Therefore, you won’t find budtender jobs in Denver if you turn up looking disheveled and stoned.

Instead, prospective employers are looking for the following in budtender candidates:

Extroverted individuals with excellent people skills.
Outstanding product knowledge. You must tell customers everything they need to know about edibles, flowers, concentrates, vape oils, and everything in between. It looks terrible if you have to scurry to your manager because you’re unable to answer every second question. Knowledge requirements include information about the dispensary’s products, what certain marijuana strains could do for medical conditions, and up-to-date information on new industry trends.
A clean-cut appearance. You must attend your budtender interview dressed as if you’re looking to work in a bank.
Sobriety – at least during the interview!
Organized individuals with a good work ethic.
A clean criminal record. Even applicants with a misdemeanor on their record will probably get overlooked.
Qualifications from a higher learning program. Various online programs offer certification in different aspects of retail marijuana.

What Kind of Salary Can a Budtender Expect to Earn?

The quick answer is that it depends. At present, the averagebudtender salary is approximately $35,600 per annum. In major cities, this typically rises above $40,000. A lot of budtenders are paid hourly. A growing number of dispensaries are moving towards a $15 per hour minimum rate.

Incidentally, dispensary managers can earn around $150,000 a year.

One possible issue is that many dispensaries don’t offer paid time off or other benefits associated with most industries. Dispensary owners claim that health insurance remains out of their budget. They point the finger of blame at taxes, which cut their already compromised profit margins.

Section 280E of the federal tax code states that legal marijuana businesses have to pay federal taxes on sales. Marijuana remains a federally illegal substance. However, they are not allowed to deduct business expenses barring the cost of goods. Dispensaries can only write off state taxes in specific locations in the last couple of years. Easing the tax burden on dispensaries could increase a budtender’s salary by up to 35%.