A Budtender is an employee of medical/recreational cannabis/marijuana dispensaries to help customers make the right decision when trying to purchase the products mentioned earlier.
They usually recommend the most suitable products to the customers, answer any questions the customer might have, manage the customers’ expectations and concerns, and keep the various shelves fully stocked.
This article will highlight how to become a budtender, the requirements needed to become one, the responsibilities, et cetera.
SEE ALSO: How to Work at a Dispensary
Requirements Needed to Become a Budtender
There are quite a few skills needed to become a successful budtender. These are some of the needed skills;
- A high school diploma or a GED is usually the required educational requirement to clinch the job.
- In some cases, a proven experience working as a budtender is required.
- Knowledge of how to properly use the various Microsoft Office applications.
- Extensive knowledge of the various cannabis strains and their medicinal benefits.
- You need to develop organizational skills
- You also need to develop your communication skills as the job entails a lot of communication.
- A healthy customer service skill is also another skillset to possess.
- You must possess a valid marijuana/cannabis permit or license in some states.
- Last but not least, excellent analytical and problem-solving skills are also quite beneficial.
How to Become a Budtender
To become a budtender is relatively easy. Getting a job as a budtender in a dispensary requires little training, certification, et cetera, but the dispensary may require certain skillsets to work for them.
In the sub-topic above, we listed the requirements. Now we’re going to explain how to possess those requirements or skillsets.
The first step to becoming a budtender is usually learning as much as possible about the marijuana industry, the various strains of cannabis, and trends. You can easily achieve this online.
Another important step in becoming a budtender is to seek out budtenders who are willing to share information and ask them as many questions as possible to satisfy your curiosity.
Budtender jobs are not readily available like other jobs, and the available jobs sometimes come with the extra baggage of experience.
To overcome this challenge, you can start by becoming a part-time budtender in any dispensary that would accommodate you; that way, you learn more about the job while simultaneously getting the needed experience.
Dispensaries are not littered all over the place like a bar, which makes it slightly difficult to get a job.
Another step usually taken by people who intend o become budtenders is to get a foot in the door by working as something else (maybe a cashier) in the dispensary and becoming a budtender.
SEE ALSO: How to Become a Criminal Investigator Without a Degree
How Much do Budtenders Earn?
In the United States, most marijuana budtenders earn an average of $16 per hour, translating to about $34,000 per annum before taxes.
Benefits sometimes include health or dental insurance, et cetera. Like other service-based jobs, the job of a budtender comes with perks such as tips.
Tips usually vary from five percent or less to twenty percent or more. Depending on your customer relation skills and the amount of help rendered to customers making a purchase, tips are usually an advantage of becoming a budtender.
Responsibilities of a Budtender
Becoming a budtender comes with several responsibilities, which include the following;
- Learning about your customers is a key responsibility of a successful budtender.
Knowing previous marijuana use, the lifestyle of your customers, their budgets, et cetera.
Having all this knowledge would help you make proper recommendations to your customers. - Effective budtenders also keep meticulous records of their customers to properly monitor the cannabis products that work best for your various customers.
- Having extensive knowledge of the available strains and how they behave when taken. This helps to also make proper recommendations.
- General knowledge of cannabis is another responsibility of the budtender, together with knowledge of the marijuana laws in the state where the dispensary is located.
- Budtenders are also responsible for meeting the sales target of the dispensaries.
SEE ALSO: 20 Best-Paying Jobs In The Cannabis Industry Today
Conclusion
The article addresses some of the pertinent questions on becoming a budtender, such as how much they earn, their responsibilities, requirements, et cetera. We hope you find the article useful.
