How to become a market and street trader or assistant

Official title: Market and street traders and assistants

Also called: Trader, Market man, Market trader, Street trader, Market vendor, Street vendor, Market orderly, Stall assistant, Market salesman, Barrow assistant, Market assistant, Market organiser

Market and street traders and assistants sell goods (other than refreshments) from stalls, barrows and other portable containers in streets and market places.

Main tasks

• Displays products on stall or barrow
• Calls out or otherwise attracts attention to goods on offer
• Sells goods at fixed price or by bargaining with customer
• Accepts payment and may wrap goods
• Cleans up site on completion of each day’s trading

How to become one

No academic qualifications are required.

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £33,363 a year
• About 25,100 people work in this job now, and about 23,900 are projected by 2035. (-4.9%)

Related jobs

• Collector salespersons and credit agents
• Debt, rent and other cash collectors
• Roundspersons and van salespersons
• Visual merchandisers and related occupations

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a market and street trader or assistant?

No academic qualifications are required.

How much does a market and street trader or assistant earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £33,363 a year (Office for National Statistics).

Is a market and street trader or assistant a growing career in the UK?

Employment is projected to fall 5% by 2035, from about 25,100 to about 23,900 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a market and street trader or assistant?

Usually not. Only 20% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03