For entrepreneurs or those looking to make a career move into the marijuana job market, cannabis continues to look like an attractive option.

It’s not just jobs at dispensaries or grow houses, either, although employment in these areas are strong. The marijuana industry has become so big that many new jobs do not “touch the plant.” They are the types of professional jobs that accumulate around every robust industry.

They include managers and directors, marketers, accountants, lawyers, security personnel, and human resource workers. But what are the most in-demand positions? A new report sheds light on the issue.

Staggering Marijuana Job Market Numbers

Recently, Vangst – a California-based recruiting and job placement company that focuses on marijuana – projected growth in marijuana-related jobs of 220% in 2019.

The company also reports the following about the marijuana job market.

• There was 690% growth in marijuana industry job listings between Jan.1, 2017 and Aug. 1, 2018
• The average salaries in marijuana increased 16.8% between 2017 and 2018
• The most hired positions in the cannabis industry are director of extraction, director of cultivation, compliance manager, dispensary manager, outside sales representatives, budtenders, and trimmers.

The company compiled the information using data from 1,200 employers in the marijuana industry.

Popular Jobs

Of the popular jobs, one of the most important – and demanding – is compliance manager. People in this role must ensure that a marijuana business complies with the potential hodgepodge of local and state laws. They also must monitor any changes with the federal government, which still classifies marijuana as illegal.

Those in this position also create tracking systems from “seed to sale” that comply with government regulations.

Finance also is a complicated issue and related to compliance. Those in accounting and finance must deal with a system that still denies most marijuana businesses any type of banking services. That’s because banks are concerned they will be penalized or even charged with committing a criminal act by supplying services to an industry that is illegal at the federal level.

Vangst also provided salary information from its database for the top jobs. The average salary for those positions was:

• Director of extraction ($72,000)
• Director of cultivation ($88,000)
• Compliance manager ($62,500)
• Dispensary store manager ($56,250)
• Outside sales representative ($58,800)
• Budtender ($13.25 per hour)
• Trimmer ($12.25 per hour)

The marijuana job market continues to grow. Medical marijuana is legal in 30 states. Another nine states have approved recreational marijuana use: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

About 207 million Americans live in these state, a majority of the total U.S. population, according to research from Politifact.