Also called: Strategic Sourcing Category Manager
Owns a company's buying for a whole category, like packaging or IT, and negotiates the big contracts.
You run a bid between four packaging suppliers, negotiate a three-year deal saving $2 million and check the winner can actually deliver.
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 business or supply chain; CPSM certification.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Supply Chain Management, Business Administration.
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Tracks purchasing managers.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI runs bids and analyzes spending; negotiating multimillion-dollar contracts and judging suppliers stays human.
Classes: AP Microeconomics, Business elective, Speech and debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-3061.
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.