Reports say there are more workers in cannabis than there are hairstylists, barbers, and cosmetologists combined. With such a busy and constantly evolving industry, there’s bound to be a job for you. 

Maybe channeling your green thumb might help you sharpen your cultivation skills and help you become a plant master. But, that all starts with essential and crucial jobs that make our industry go-’round, like cannabis bud trimmers. 

The main role of a cannabis bud trimmer is to trim the buds off of marijuana plants come harvest. Trimmers are responsible for ensuring the buds remain intact and visually appealing for when they hit the shelves in retail stores. Some other responsibilities might include weighing, labeling, and packaging the buds.

These jobs call for some irregular working hours, considering trimmers are only needed around harvest. This also means trimmers might have to be available to work on short notice. Trimmers are employed by cannabis cultivation facilities that sell their products to dispensaries, retail stores, or suppliers.

There’s no education needed to work as a trimmer, nor do you need to take any courses to know your way around trimming a plant. That said, it helps to be knowledgeable of grow operations and cannabis in general. If you‘re currently working in a dispensary and want to take your career even further, start sharpening your skills.

Some of the skills you need to use on the job include ensuring measurements and weights of buds are accurate to their packaging, having a steady hand for precise and careful trimmings, knowing how to operate trimming tools, and having keen hand-eye coordination. Check out job listing sites like Indeed to begin your career hunt.

Currently, no reports or statistics shed light on the pay scale for cannabis trimmers. But believe us, trimmers are needed now more than ever. With the number of cultivation facilities in North America, it’s safe to say that cannabis trimming is an underrated job, and perhaps, one of the most important ones.

According to data from Fortune.com, the estimated average annual income for cannabis trimmers in 2019 was $29,667. Keep in mind that your position as a trimmer will not be your last job in the industry, as it’s an entry-level position and the perfect place to start climbing the ladder of cannabis-related jobs.