Starting Your Nevada Cannabis Career Path

Interested in starting your Nevada cannabis career path? It’s a great industry to be a part of, with a great variety of career opportunities. There are a lot of great perks working in the Nevada Cannabis industry. Good wages. A fun, casual environment. Product sampling. No judgment for enjoying cannabis recreationally. It’s pretty great.

Of course, this is a job that still requires professionalism and the promotion of safe practices. If you’re the type of person that enjoys being in an environment where you are always learning, a Nevada cannabis career could be a great fit for you.

There are several different career paths available in the state of Nevada. These include: trimmer, budtender, grower, working as a chef with infused edibles, packaging of products, managers, and lab technicians/scientists.

We’ll dive deeper into these different roles a little further into this article. But first, let’s discuss the preliminary steps you need to take in order to be able to pursue a Nevada cannabis career. Unlike your typical service or retail job, there are a few more requirements and steps you must take in order to be eligible for employment.

Do I Meet the Qualifications For a Nevada Cannabis Career?

To begin with, you must be at least 21 years of age in order to work for a Nevada cannabis business. The first thing you’ll need to do before you can begin your new job is obtaining a Marijuana Agent Registration Card. As an employee of the state of Nevada’s cannabis industry, you must apply for an agent card. You’ll go through the Nevada Department of Taxation’s Marijuana Enforcement Division to acquire it.

In order to complete this application, you will need to provide your basic personal and contact information, and you will have a choice to register your agent card under one of the following categories: cultivation, dispensary, production, distributor, or laboratory. For example, if you are going to be working as a budtender, you would choose the “dispensary” category.

Crimianal Attestation Forms

Nevada law requires that you must fill out an Attestation Form. This is essentially a statement that you haven’t been convicted of an excluded felony, or had a previous agent card revoked. It also includes committing any other violations that would exclude you. If you have any felonies that involve drug sales or violent offenses you may not be eligible. You will also need to sign a Dispense/Divert Pledge form which states that you will not give cannabis products to unauthorized individuals, such as minors.

Fingerprinting

The application requires you to sign a fingerprint background waiver. You’ll be fingerprinted by a state-approved fingerprinting office in Nevada in order to undergo this background check. If you are working for a dispensary, will be asked if you will be employed by a facility that is medical or recreational or both.

If you’re applying for a dual license establishment, you’re required to submit two fingerprint records. Your application will also need to include copies of your passport photo, which you can have done at a local CVS. You will also need to provide government-issued identification such as a driver’s license in order to complete the application process.

Associated Costs to Start Your Career in Cannabis

Keep in mind that you will need to pay for the cost of fingerprinting, which costs around $85.00 through Fingerprint Express, on top of that you will need to pay a separate registration fee to the Department of Taxation in the amount of $75, for new and renewal cards. Additionally, you will need to renew your agent card on a yearly basis.

Some employers refund you the cost of your agent card after a probationary period of employment, or if it’s coming up for renewal. Either way, expect to spend at least $150 per year on your agent card.

You can make payments in the form of cash, money order, or cashier’s check. However, you cannot pay with a debit or credit card. You can submit your application by mail. But keep in mind that you’ll need to submit your renewal application at least 30 days in advance of the expiration date. Doing so ensures that your card does not expire while you are employed. Seriously, don’t let this happen!

How Much Can I Expect to Earn in the Nevada Cannabis Industry?

Budtenders, cashiers, and delivery drivers can typically expect to earn between minimum wage and $15 per hour, oftentimes they will earn tips if they are working in a role where they are interacting directly with customers. Budtenders must report their tips at the end of the shift, and will usually have to pay out a percentage to the rest of the team which could include, inventory, front desk staff, and management.

More specialized cannabis jobs such as those in labs or cultivation can pay between $15 and $30 per hour. For head cultivators or growers, the salaries can start around $60,000 per year. Those that work in a managerial role for either a cultivation facility or dispensary can expect a starting salary around $40,000. An assistant cultivator or cannabis wholesaler can expect a salary in a similar range.

What Does a Budtender Nevada Cannabis Career Entail?

Budtenders welcome customers, answer questions about products and how to use them, assist medical patients and recreational users in choosing the appropriate products, handle cash, and complete transactions using a point of sale (POS) system.

In order to be a budtender, you’ll need to be aware of all the state cannabis laws. Who can purchase which products? The maximum allowable quantity of THC sold per transaction. Where legal cannabis consumption can take place. You get the idea.

Furthermore, you may have customers who are tourists asking you if they can smoke in public places such as casinos and public spaces outdoors, and you will have to inform them that it is illegal to do so according to Nevada law.

Best Budtenders

Successful budtenders must wear many hats. They must be friendly, good communicators, reliable, and have a great working knowledge of cannabis, the various terpenes and cannabinoids, and the various methods of smoking, ingesting, and applying cannabis products. Budtenders will be expected to continuously learn about cannabis and the various products they are selling, in order to talk about their benefits in an accurate and ethical way.

Budtenders must be well versed in the art of customer service, organization, problem-solving, time management, and teamwork. It also helps to have a great memory and an understanding of the cannabis cultivation process. If you have an eye for high-quality flower, your customers will turn to devoted regulars in no time.

Dispensaries typically require that their budtenders have a high school diploma or GED. Cash handling experience is required. It is a bonus if they have prior experience in the cannabis industry. Completing an online certification in courses related to cannabis can improve your chances of being hired, and benefit you in your ability to close sales, but this is not a requirement.

Best Parts of Working at a Nevada Cannabis Distpensary

One of the best perks of working at a dispensary is that you get discounts on product sales, and some even offer their employees samples for the cost of just one penny. Dispensaries cannot legally give away samples for free, so they sell them to staff for at least a penny.

Many dispensaries will require that their budtenders submit product reviews in exchange for these low-cost samples. This demonstrates the budtender’s ability to describe the product to customers and also provides great feedback to the company in terms of which products are potential top sellers, and which ones are duds.

What’s it Like to Be a Nevada Cannabis Trimmer or Cultivator

Trimming

As a trimmer your responsibilities may include trimming excess leaves and stems from the cannabis flower, weighing the correct quantity, and packaging. You may also prepare flower for loading pre-rolls. This work requires a lot of repetitive movement and attention to detail.

If you are a person that likes working with your hands and enjoys the meditation of repetitive tasks, this is a great job for you. I used to work as a professional trimmer and they would let us listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks on our headphones while we worked, which made the workday fly by.

Cultivation

If you work at a cultivation center you may also be working directly with the plants themselves, working on projects such as transplanting seedlings, watering and feeding plants with liquid nutrients, monitoring for proper light cycles, and inspecting to make sure there are no issues with pests or mildew. When the plants are ready to harvest, you will help with cutting and drying them. Then you’ll clean up as the grow room is sanitized and prepared for the next round of plants.

Cannabis growing is a precise science that requires proper temperatures, humidity, light, hydration, and soil ecology in order to produce excellent plants. If the proper protocol for growing cannabis is not followed the crop becomes unsafe or unusable. Failures like these jeopardise months of work and company money. Employees that work in cultivation must possess the ability to lift heavy objects, be on their feet for hours at a time, enjoy teamwork, and be great communicators.

Careers in the Products & Edibles Sector

If you are working in the production of cannabis edibles it is helpful to have a background in culinary arts. You will need to have very precise math skills and be able to produce uniformity in products. Likewise, if you are working in a laboratory setting you will be responsible for testing cannabis products to make sure that their THC levels are within the limits of Nevada State law.

You will also be testing for an accurate reading of terpene levels and to be sure that the product contains no contaminants that would be unsafe to consumers. Testing labs have a very important role to play in ensuring that medical marijuana patients and recreational cannabis consumers are able to purchase products that have accurate information about their potency and safety. People working in this area of the cannabis industry have a love of numbers, data, and organization.

How Can I Succeed in the Nevada Cannabis Industry?

The odds of securing a Nevada cannabis career increase if you make it a point to network and pursue education about cannabis. Getting referrals from people who are already working in the cannabis industry can be very helpful in securing a job. You can connect with people working in the industry by attending cannabis career fairs and other related trade shows. Additionally, you can reach out to professionals in the cannabis industry through career networking sites such as Linkedin.

I was able to get my first dispensary job just by consistently purchasing from the same dispensary. I was a really good customer. And as a customer, I always made it a point of being kind, friendly and tipping well. Additionally, I showed respect for the knowledge of the budtender that was serving me. Furthermore, I also demonstrated that I had some knowledge about cannabis on my own. When the time came when I felt comfortable to ask if they were hiring, I was fortunate to have several great referrals because my future co-workers already liked me.

Ready to Start Your Nevada Cannabis Career?

Even if you don’t have any experience or connections in the cannabis industry, if you show grit, determination, humility, and a desire to keep educating yourself, you have a great shot at getting a job that you will truly love. Thinking back on my own employment history, working in the cannabis industry was one of the best career decisions I ever made. If you show that you’re passionate about working with cannabis, the right job opportunity will eventually find you.

If you’re interested in a Nevada cannabis career producing cannabis products and edibles, we’d love to hear from you. At OMG THC and EPC, we create hash, edibles, tinctures, spices, vapes, and more. You can reach out to our COO Stephanie Magurno to request information about positions and interviews. Good luck starting your cannabis career. Best wishes and congratulations on deciding to take the next steps.

About OMG THC

We’re homegrown in Las Vegas, Nevada. We embrace niches others in the Cannabis market ignore or reject. Vegan? Diabetic? Gourmet cook? Old-school hash connoisseur? Looking for a specific ratio of CBD and THC in your products? You got it! We’ve got you covered!

Additionally, we care about quality and the effects our products have on people’s lives & health. OMG THC use only CO2 and ethanol extraction methods. We NEVER use butane or other petrochemicals to extract our oils. We want our products to be easy on the body and safe for our team to make.

Our products are simple and they are great. From the cannabis oils, we use to the packaging and the varieties of our products. Finally, and best of all, our edibles are damn delicious! In other words, if we wouldn’t want to eat them, we aren’t going to sell them to anyone else. We NEVER cut our concentrates with anything – period! EVER! We use top-of-the-line C-Cell hardware – always. We ensure quality and purity.

For Adult Use Only

OMG THC products are intended for use by and available to adults 21+ and over. Keep our products out of reach of children and pets. Furthermore, be smart about handling and use, and dosage. Be Vigilant. Keep yourself in check. Finally, enjoy our products responsibly and keep everyone safe.

As always, feel free to Contact OMG THC with any questions or comments you might have. We’re here for you and we’re responsive to your needs. If you’d like to locate OMG THC products, check out our dispensaries list. You can also find out more about OMG THC on Leafly.