Also called: Product Developer, Sourcing Manager
Guides a garment from sketch to store, managing factories, costs, materials, and timelines.
They negotiate with overseas factories, approve fabric samples, and keep a whole collection on schedule and on budget. A day might mean a 7 a.m. call with a factory in Vietnam and an afternoon fit session. Travel to Asia is common.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 8 years after high school. Bachelor's in fashion merchandising, design, or business plus years of experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Fashion Merchandising, Apparel Design, Supply Chain Management.
Growing about average. Steady demand at large apparel brands.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI sourcing and costing tools take over tracking work; factory relationships, quality calls and tradeoffs stay human.
Classes: Business or FBLA, Fashion design CTE, Math or statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1022.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.