Assistant Merchandise Buyer Overview
Working as an Assistant Merchandise Buyer
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an assistant merchandise buyer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.15 an hour? That's $52,306 a year!
What Does an Assistant Merchandise Buyer Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an assistant merchandise buyer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 11.5% of assistant merchandise buyers included assistant merchandiser, while 6.2% of resumes included apparel, and 5.9% of resumes included inventory management. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the assistant merchandise buyer job title. But what industry to start with? Most assistant merchandise buyers actually find jobs in the retail and manufacturing industries.
How To Become an Assistant Merchandise Buyer
If you're interested in becoming an assistant merchandise buyer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.2% of assistant merchandise buyers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.7% of assistant merchandise buyers have master's degrees. Even though most assistant merchandise buyers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an assistant merchandise buyer. When we researched the most common majors for an assistant merchandise buyer, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on assistant merchandise buyer resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an assistant merchandise buyer. In fact, many assistant merchandise buyer jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many assistant merchandise buyers also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or merchandising internship.
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Assistant Merchandise Buyer Jobs
Assistant Merchandise Buyer Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an assistant merchandise buyer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as buyer, progress to a title such as purchasing manager and then eventually end up with the title senior purchasing manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Assistant Merchandise Buyer
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Kforce Assistant Merchandise Buyer Assistant Merchandise Buyer | Kforce Kforce | 10/25/2019 10/25/2019 | $35,47910/25/2019 $35,479 |
The Natori Company Assistant Merchandiser Assistant Merchandiser | The Natori Company The Natori Company | 03/18/2019 03/18/2019 | $47,65303/18/2019 $47,653 |
Mignon and Mignon Assistant Merchandiser Assistant Merchandiser | Mignon and Mignon Mignon and Mignon | 09/10/2018 09/10/2018 | $60,59009/10/2018 $60,590 |
Ann Taylor, Inc. Assistant Merchandiser Assistant Merchandiser | Ann Taylor, Inc. Ann Taylor, Inc. | 03/06/2018 03/06/2018 | $45,76003/06/2018 $45,760 |
Pacific Wave, Inc. Assistant Merchandiser Assistant Merchandiser | Pacific Wave, Inc. Pacific Wave, Inc. | 10/03/2017 10/03/2017 | $55,57810/03/2017 $55,578 |
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Top Colleges for Assistant Merchandise Buyers
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
2. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN
3. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
4. University of Akron
Akron, OH
5. Ball State University
Muncie, IN
6. Stanford University
Stanford, CA
7. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
8. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY
9. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
10. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
Entry Level Jobs For Becoming An Assistant Merchandise Buyer
Top Skills For an Assistant Merchandise Buyer
- Apparel, 6.8%
- Financial Goals, 6.7%
- Market Research, 5.5%
- Inventory Levels, 4.9%
- Buyers, 4.7%
- Other Skills, 71.4% See All Assistant Merchandise Buyer Skills
Best States For an Assistant Merchandise Buyer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an assistant merchandise buyer. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Assistant merchandise buyers make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $56,211. Whereas in California and Massachusetts, they would average $56,059 and $55,721, respectively. While assistant merchandise buyers would only make an average of $54,957 in Maryland, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Connecticut
$52,856
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$54,530
Avg. Salary
3. Ohio
$51,691
Avg. Salary