Top 15 Best Paying Jobs in Precious Metals (Updated 2024)
Have you ever considered working in the precious metals industry? You might be shocked to learn that this sector offers a wide variety of careers.
Even though our day-to-day lives are increasingly more “online” and going digital at an almost breakneck pace, the modern world still runs on precious metals.
Gold and silver are critically important resources, but so are metals like palladium, platinum, rhodium, and lithium (just to name a few). All of these resources need to be dug out of the ground and refined to be useful to our modern society – and that’s where the top 15 best paying jobs in precious metals come into play.
Below we dig a little deeper into everything you need to know about the best-paying jobs in precious metals, their career prospects, and whether or not these kinds of jobs are right for you!
What is a Job in the Precious Metals Industry?
One of the reasons that a career in precious metals is so exciting is that there are an almost unlimited amount of opportunities to find a job in this industry that suits your skills, your goals, and your interests right down to the ground.
Looking for something a little more physical, something that challenges your body just as much as a challenges your mind?
The mining industry and actually pulling these resources from the ground is likely going to be right up your alley.
Looking for something that taps into your creative side and helps you refine these incredible resources?
Maybe the production, jewelry design, or processing jobs in this field are better suited to you specifically.
The end of the day the amount of opportunity – and the variation of jobs you can build a career out of – in this industry is almost second to none.
Are Precious Metals Jobs a Good Career Path?
It’s difficult to imagine any time in the far future that precious metals aren’t a huge part of our day-to-day lives, incredibly valuable to our society, and this industry just sort of “drying up”.
Truth be told, there may not be a more future proof career path than a career in precious metals.
These materials are always in demand, and will always be in demand, and that means the jobs associated with this industry are going to be in demand, too.
If you’re after a secure career with lots of growth opportunities moving forward, precious metals deserve a closer look.
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Top 15 Best Paying Jobs in Precious Metals
Miners
Median Salary – $55,000
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 3% over 10 years
Absolutely nothing in the precious metals industry happens until precious metals are pulled out of the ground – physically.
The people responsible for mining these resources are a huge piece of the precious metals puzzle, the individuals that do the bulk of the “grunt work” cutting, blasting, and quite literally prying these metals right out of the earth.
On the surface, this career might look like a completely blue-collar kind of opportunity – something dependent highly on abilities and little else. Nothing could be further from the truth, though.
Not today, anyway.
Today’s miners have to be able to operate incredibly sophisticated equipment, have to be able to work with geologists and engineers to mine more efficiently, and need to use their brainpower just as much as they use their brawn.
This is a great looking to break into the precious metals world without a ton of formal education, though.
Geologists
Median Salary – $89,000
Education – Bachelor’s Degree
Projected Growth – 10% over 10 years
Geologists (scientists that studied the earth) are another major piece of the precious metals industry.
After all, without geologists to study the land and locate potential resource pockets the mining professionals wouldn’t have any idea of where to start digging. At least not without wasting a ton of time and a ton of money.
Professional geologists are tasked with evaluating different mining sites, studying the availability of the resources, the value of the resources, and the practicality of pulling those resources from that area as well.
It’s not at all uncommon for geologists to stay on after finding pockets of precious metals, though. They keep up-to-date about the progress of the mining operation, continue to refine their data set with each new pocket of precious metal pulled from the earth, and also work with engineers to repair the land after the mind has been tapped out.
Gemologists
Median Salary – $47,000
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 11% over 10 years
A gemologist has a different set of responsibilities compared to a genealogist, with gemologists (sometimes referred to as gem experts) working to identify stones, metals, and other resources that are mined from the earth.
The idea here is that these professionals better interpret the type of resources being pulled from the earth, their financial value (including after they’ve been processed and refined), and that they are in fact 100% authentic.
After all, the last thing a major precious metals mining operation needs to worry about is striking into big pockets of “fools gold” and investing a mountain of money into getting it out of the ground before discovering exactly how worthless it is in comparison to the real deal!
Precious Metals Worker
Median Salary – $46,000
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 1% over 10 years
Precious metal workers fall under a pretty big umbrella in the industry, covering a whole range of jobs from those that physically handle the raw materials pulled out of mining operations to those that handle refined products – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There are precious metal workers in the jewelry industry that handle rough metals and stones, working them into the building blocks that jewelers and jewelry designers well shape and mold further.
There are also precious metal workers in the metals industry, working with bullion and blanks that will be turned into coins and other materials later down the line.
Some precious metals workers are responsible for the security of these resources, the transportation of these resources, and the storage of these resources, too.
Mining Engineers
Median Salary – $97,000
Education – Bachelor’s Degree
Projected Growth – 12% over 10 years
Mining engineers are on the hook for designing and developing mining facilities, figuring out the best way to get precious metals out of the earth, and want to do with all the material that is inevitably pulled up out of the ground alongside those resources.
It’s not uncommon or unusual for mining engineers to work side-by-side with geoscientists, geologists, metallurgical engineers, and other professionals an effort to find the most valuable deposits of precious metals before a mine is constructed.
After all, even incredibly large and rich deposits of precious metals may not be worth pursuing underground if the mining operation required to pull those materials from the earth would cancel out all potential profit.
Precious Metals Analyst
Median Salary – $82,000
Education – Bachelor’s Degree
Projected Growth – 23% over 10 years
Easily one of the fastest growing career opportunities in the precious metals industry, becoming a precious metals analyst practically guarantees a long and fruitful career in this industry – with plenty of advancement and pay bump potential, too.
The individuals in this career field are responsible for analyzing precious metal resources. We’re not just talking about analyzing the materials that are coming out of mining operations, though.
We’re also talking about analyzing the precious metals industry at large, the market for precious metals and materials, and even forecasting how the market is going to unfold months if not years down the line.
These professionals are huge parts of the precious metals industry and incredibly valued career positions. Every single precious metal operation on the planet employees armies of analysts and continue to expand these departments, as evidenced by the extreme growth in this field.0000
Precious Metals Consultants
Median Salary – $82,000
Education – Bachelor’s Degree
Projected Growth – 17% over 10 years
One of the more interesting career fields in the precious metal industry, precious metal consultants are often hired on a relatively short-term basis – bouncing from one company to the next while offering their services.
This kind of contract work can encompass a whole range of different things, from assisting with mine plans and operations, improving efficiencies at a mining facility, boosting transportation efficiencies and security, and so much more.
Those that are always looking for something new to do while building their precious metal career will want to take a closer look at the consulting field.
Metallurgist
Median Salary – $93,000
Education – Engineering Degree
Projected Growth – 20% over 10 years
The metallurgist career is growing by leaps and bounds, with projected growth sitting at about 20% over the next 10 years.
Responsible for better understanding the actual properties and potential applications for precious metals, careers in this field can specialize in a number of different ways. Some people like to specialize in chemical metallurgy. Others like to focus on physical metallurgy. And others still zero in on process metallurgy.
At the end of the day, though, any company involved in precious metals will be employing departments of metallurgists that can be deployed companywide. This is a fantastic opportunity for those that are looking for great advancement options.
Precious Metals Brokers
Median Salary – $203,000
Education – Apprenticeship
Projected Growth – 17% over 10 years
Not everyone in the precious metals world is involved specifically in the mining or manufacturing (or refining) aspects of the precious metals business.
Some people work on the sales side of things – including precious metal brokers.
These brokers are responsible for moving precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in large quantities, buying and selling these materials all over the world.
Breaking into this field can be a little bit of a challenge, but only because a lot of the better career opportunities as a precious metals broker, a few years into your work and only after an apprenticeship to sort of learn the ropes.
The people that excel in this field have excellent people skills, a good grasp of finance and marketing, wonderful analytical skills, and are very detail oriented.
Jewelry Designer
Median Salary – $50,000 a year
Education – 24 Months of Technical Training
Projected Growth – 6% over 10 years
Becoming a jewelry designer is a dream for a lot of people in the artistic and creative world, bringing their designs to life in a tangible way that can be tough to do in a lot of other mediums.
A unique career in the precious metals world where you don’t necessarily need a tremendous amount of formal education to get started, it does help to have some technical training (perhaps at a trade school) just to better understand the tools and technology necessary to create jewelry from scratch.
At the end of the day, though, literally anyone can dive headfirst into the world of jewelry design if they have a passion and aptitude for it.
Jewelry and Coin Specialist
Median Salary – $50,000 a year
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 1% over 10 years
Jewelry and coin specialists often set up shop for themselves, employing apprentice jewelry and coin specialists to sort of teach them the ropes of the business.
There are no real barriers of entry to this career in the precious metal industry, either. Anyone willing to do research and to study jewelry and coins can become a master in the field – and basically dictate their own income and job opportunities, too.
At the end of the day, the bulk of the responsibilities for these professionals fall under the umbrella of appraising, grading, and authenticating jewelry and coins.
Jewelry Repair
Median Salary – $46,000
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 1% over 10 years
While traditional jewelers maybe disappearing from a number of communities because of online operations, this career field is still growing at a 1% clip over 10 years – and likely will never totally disappear from the landscape.
After all, people like to bring their jewelry pieces into a person from their community with the skills to repair and restore them rather than drop them in the mail and hope for the best.
Jewelry Appraisal
Median Salary – $67,000
Education – Apprenticeship
Projected Growth – 3% over 10 years
Jewelry appraisal professionals are responsible for (no surprise here) appraising jewelry pieces.
Sometimes hired by independent jewelry operations to better price their own products, jewelry appraisal experts are often hired by insurance houses to get a better feel for client jewelry valuations.
An apprenticeship opens up the doors in this career field, with most major operations looking to hire those that have real world experience and a certification in this area, too.
Lapidary
Median Salary – $40,000
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 3% over 10 years
A lapidary is the professional responsible for working directly with raw precious metals, cutting, shaping, and crafting them into workable resources that are later further refined and turned into coins, collectibles, and pieces of jewelry.
A very technical kind of career, most of the training for those in this field will happen on the job. That does mean, though, that these opportunities are available to anyone and everyone willing to put in the work to develop this career.
Jewelry and Metals Sales
Median Salary – $85,000 Base (with Commission Opportunities)
Education – High School Diploma (or Equivalent)
Projected Growth – 8.5% over 10 years
To the surprise of no one, sales positions in the jewelry and metals world – a major part of the precious metals industry – are often very well paid career opportunities.
Anytime you’re working with products and commodities that have the kind of price tags that precious metals have associated with them the potential for salespeople to make skyhigh commissions blossom dramatically.
You’ll need people skills, sales skills, and a real driven and motivated attitude to succeed in this career. But the income potential here is absolutely off the charts.
Have a look at our other article on the Best Paying Jobs in Medical Dental Instruments
FAQs
Are precious metals careers in demand right now?
Absolutely! All of the top 15 best paying jobs in precious metals are in demand right now and are projected to have fantastic growth, year-over-year, for at least the next decade – and likely well into the future.
Do I need a college education to get into the precious metals industry?
While there certainly are some career fields in the precious metals industry that require you to have a college education (and sometimes even advanced degrees, particularly those in the more technical side of things like engineering), there’s lots of opportunity for those with a high school diploma to break into this industry, too.
Can I make six figures a year in the precious metals industry?
Though the overwhelming majority of the top 15 best paying jobs in precious metals we highlighted above have median salaries in the five figure range, it’s not at all uncommon for people to make six figures in this business (and make six figures pretty early in their career, too). It’s all about choosing and pursuing the right opportunities.
What is a precious metal worker called?
Professionals who work with precious metals are simply referred to as precious metal workers. They also go by the name jewelers, although this term can also refer to several types of jewelry workers. Goldsmith is yet another popular term for individuals who specialize in working with gold and other precious metals.
