Also called: Procurement Manager, Director of Purchasing
Leads the team that buys everything a company needs, from raw materials to software, at the best price and quality.
You review a plan to switch steel suppliers, negotiate a three-year contract worth $50 million and coach a buyer on handling a supplier who keeps shipping late.
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, supply chain or engineering; CPSM certification common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering.
Growing slowly (about 0% over 10 years). Flat; procurement software lets smaller teams do more.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI handles routine buying and supplier scoring, so buying teams shrink; big negotiations and supply crises stay human.
Classes: AP Microeconomics, Business elective, Spreadsheets or computer applications, Spanish or another world language.
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.