Also called: Sourcing Manager, Raw Materials Buyer
Finds and negotiates with the mills and factories that make fabric, zippers, buttons and finished clothes.
You compare price quotes from three denim mills, check which ones pass social-compliance audits, and figure out how new tariffs change the math. Some weeks you are on factory tours overseas; others you are buried in spreadsheets and video calls.
Based on BLS purchasing agent wages; apparel sourcing managers earn toward the top.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in business, supply chain or apparel merchandising.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Supply Chain Management, Apparel Merchandising, Business Administration, International Business.
Shrinking (about -1% over 10 years). BLS projects purchasing-agent jobs to be about flat.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI tools match suppliers, compare costs and draft emails, cutting junior sourcing roles; relationships still matter.
Classes: Business class, Spanish or Mandarin, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 13-1023.
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.