How do TPGs find graders?

When I think of a professional grader, I envision a person who is middle age or probably older. Throughout the week, many questions popped into my head. So here's my Friday night Q&A.

1. How do TPGs find experienced graders?
2. Do they have apprenticeship programs that foster and develop the necessary skills, and then promote from within?
3. If my premise about graders being older in age is correct, are the TPGs struggling to find well qualified replacements?
4. Generally, are numismatic professionals dwindling in number and thus becoming a supply issue for the TPGs?

I would enjoy reading your thoughts about these. (No need to answer each question individually, of course.) I presume that a candidate who knows how to properly grade different types of coins (vs. one who specializes, say, in Morgans only) would be more desirable? How many among the general population know how to professionally grade coins? Probably less than 1/1,000th of 1%? So how do the TPGs find and recruit them?

 

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I wish they came to CT. I need me an apprenticeship

 

Same way all companies do, a combination of training/promoting within, hiring away from competitors and from applications

 

Not enough coffee for me today. I had read that you wished they came to Connecticut and I said to myself, "I thought Evan's from Maine." Then it hit me... Nevermind.... LOL.

 

They advertise on Craig's List.........

 

... or via their own websites:
https://www.pcgs.com/job/grader
and
https://www.collectiblesgroup.com/
(Select 'careers' from the menu at upper right)

 

Thanks all. I guess it's probably not as hard to find qualified candidates as I had imagined it to be. Enjoy the weekend!

 

Depends what position you’re trying to fill. Big difference between hiring a new grader and needing to replace a finalizer but yea a lot of people can be taught with enough practice.

 

What's a finalizer, may I ask? Is he the guy who checks and approves the grade of a subordinate?
The ANA offers a Numismatics Scholar course (home study), which I would like to sign up for. But even after taking it, one would need a lot of field experience. I rarely get a GTG correctly, when I play it here. LOL.

 

Basically yea. The most experienced best graders

 

It'll probably be 90% AI automated in five years. I remember looking at the Sunday help wanted ads when I was in high school and there would be 5-6 pages of openings for "key punch operators". Not so much anymore.

 

Without having the subject coin IN HAND while trying to GTG, your subjective grade is flawed from the start. Even if you do GTG correctly. Lighting, focus, angles, magnification, toning are all not the same when looking at a picture online as compared to holding the coin in your hands.

Don't beat yourself up not getting it right. Now if you're guessing 5-6 grades off the actual grade, then maybe seeking a different career path would be prudent.

 

Kneepads, bribery and nepotisim.. bout covers it all... Pretty much the same way the US post office hires...

 

Don't be so cynical.

There's always blackmail too

 

lol i had blackmail in there changed it to bribery lol

 

Ye' of little faith. They're separate and distinct forms of abhorrent behavior.

 

opposite sides of the same coin

 

@Insider searching for apprentices at ICG

 

There was a young guy, maybe 20 or so, on another site whose ambition was to be a professional grader at one of the big TPGs. As I remember, he was hired quite young by said TPG. As far as I know, he's still there. @GDJMSP I'll bet we're talking about the same guy.