How do I get a job with NGC/PCGS

I feel as though I have a natural gift at grading coins. I don't know really how to explain it but I can usually just look at a coin and know the grade within a matter of seconds. Another thing is that I do not ever use a loop. The only coins I am having complete accuracy on are gold coins. For the last year straight I have done nothing but looked at coins. Thousands a day. Scanning eBay or examining numismatics in hand on the job, I feel like I am ready to become a professional grader. So how could I best capitalize on this? Through Julien Leidman I was able to contact Don Willis and he suggested attending the ANA summer seminars. Unfortunatly I did not sign up for the grading classes in time. I've thought about entering contests at major shows. I'm confident that I can oneday be a grader for NGC/PCGS but am just not sure how to get there. Where should I go from here?

Thanks,
~Jason

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Listen to Don, and wait until next year to sign up for the seminars. I have a hard time believing any company would take you seriously without those classes.

 

Must ... resist... temptation....

 

You're not allowed to be a collector of coins if you work for them. Were you aware of that rule?

 

There is plenty more to learn than just grading. Counterfeit detection and variety attribution to name a couple. It really is a highly specialized field, but NCS maybe an easier way in the door. I don't want to scare you away, I just want you to know what you are in for. But really, the Summer seminar is the first step. Good luck.

 

You are allowed to collect, just not commercially trade coins.

 

there is absolutely no way they could enforce that rule.....and if you tell me that you think that all the people who grade coins for a living there don't collect coins at all I would say you are kidding yourself....just sayin

 

You should talk to or PM Mike (illini420). He is a member of CT and won the 2012 PCGS coin grading contest and scored an MS65 Saint Gaudens gold coin for his outstanding grading skills. Congrats Mike! TC

 

I'm with you on that.

 

If you are good at grading coins then you should start your own business, you could call it "JCB's Coin Pre-screening Service". You could have people send you coins and charge them $10 to determine what the coin will grade when submitted. They can then decide whether the submission fee is worthwhile. You could even submit the coins to the TPG for them and pass on the bulk submission savings, which would make cost of your service even cheaper.

But if you do apply for a job with a TPG, be sure to tell them that you have 717 Likes at Cointalk. That'll definitely carry some weight!

 

I realize this is third-person info, but a collecting friend of mine attended the ANA grading seminar last year and met some graders. The impression he got was that it's a real sweat-shop environment, which is apparently why they have a high turnover rate of graders. If you're serious about pursuing this, it's worth asking: do you really want to grade coins all day in a pressure environment, week after week, month after month?

 

Take the course, it's a really good investment in yourself and a very good way to network. :thumb:

 

Does anyone know the price of the course? Just wondering......

 

Dude.

 

Ask Mark Feld, he was a NGC grader, and member of this forum

 

I have seen friends of mine go from novice to NGC grader in 3 years. He however spent those 3 years on the show circuit working for a "master grader" and mentor. He groomed him into a grader... This however is not the usual... I would say that it would take a minimum of 10 years of normal show experience to even get a shot... It's all about who you know.

 

You might also want to contact PCGS and NGC to see what they recommend for experience to qualify for one of their job openings.

 

Then Hall would be a hypocrite, would he not?

 

And on another note, why would you want to grade thousands of ASE's a day. You know you aren't going to grade classic gold if you so happen to get hired.