Industry Spotlight: Budtender

Salutations

Budtender: Salary 33-40K, requirements 19+ years of age.  Retail / Cannabis Sales experience.

The two largest sectors in need of workers are production ( growing the weed ) and sales ( selling the weed )  Found in brick and mortal cannabis shops, their job is to help customers interpret the subtle differences between available strains and guide a users choice by describing terpene profiles, THC / CBD content and any other usable data that might not be found easily in store.

Akin to bartenders, these are professionals who have a background in customer service and have fine tuned their skills across the bar to help customers get their favorite drink, or if they don't have that in stock, to make an alternate suggestion based on the customers experience / preferences.  Creating a tailored experience is the backbone of both of these types of work.

Selling ganja isn't hard. But helping someone find the right strain, for them, involves being more hands on with the products,  detailing characteristics of a certain flower on display, describing taste and effects that can be expected.  Being a passionate cannabis user is almost a must for this position, because no amount of online data can provide you the same customer service as a knowledgeable budtender.

These are the front of house warriors, keeping things neat and organized, friendly and warm. Responsible for point of sale and cash handling in many circumstances, this job requires a bit of flexibility in that you might be folding shirts and merchandise, or breaking down boxes when you're not engaging customers directly, but otherwise is not a super strenuous position, other than standing for prolonged periods.

Before entering the shop, you'll notice an "age gater" who checks ID's.  This job looks pretty thankless and can be a bit cold and lonely, but still a better than average starting pay in a growing industry.

Outside the shop, you'll see experts in cannabis physiology, terpene profiles and quality inspection working as interpening specialists.  Like the Sommeliers of the weed world, they help assist other industry professionals by educating staff and customers about the specifics of this or that product.  Hosting cannabis tasting events and acting as a liaison between brands and their end users is what makes this Interpening specialist far more than your average budtender. Often chasing higher education and attending industry seminars, networking and charisma are some of the key attributes of the successful interpener.
Education: Sommelier 1-4, Interpening 1-3 through the Trichome Institute or similar post secondary courses.

With options to grow into a brand ambassador, cannabis rep or interpening specialist, this is an excellent ground floor position that will certainly keep food on the table while keeping you mentally stimulated about working with fun products.    Plus, if you're coming from a kitchen or bar background, you won't have to be closing 2am shifts with drunken maniacs as your only peers. However, you'll probably be missing those fat tip outs at the end of the week, despite the higher hourly wage. 

Problems with this type of work, are the irregular shifts and inconsistent stock.  Its hard to get ready to go and pitch a product, when you have no idea of what's available until you actually get to work.  Supply issues are predicted to continue into the new year, which is driving many retailers across the country to only be open for limited times during the week, slashing hours for workers. And with any retail position- the customer is always right, and that sometimes means eating a bit of shit.