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The differences between buying analysts and planning analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a buying analyst, becoming a planning analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a buying analyst has an average salary of $77,425, which is higher than the $68,137 average annual salary of a planning analyst.
The top three skills for a buying analyst include purchase orders, delivery schedules and MRP. The most important skills for a planning analyst are project management, customer service, and data analysis.
| Buying Analyst | Planning Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $77,425 | $68,137 |
| Hourly rate | $37.22 | $32.76 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 22,966 | 92,380 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A buying analyst specializes in conducting extensive market research and analysis to develop conclusions and recommendations that will help companies in making purchase decisions. They focus on studying the suppliers and competing companies, gathering and analyzing consumer feedback, performing audits and risk assessments, and making forecast models. They may also assess and evaluate external parties, such as vendors and distributors. Through the findings of their research, a buying analyst may also help in establishing guidelines, protocols, and methods to optimize business operations and develop solutions against problem areas.
As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.
Buying analysts and planning analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Buying Analyst | Planning Analyst | |
| Average salary | $77,425 | $68,137 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $113,000 | Between $49,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | YellowHammer | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a buying analyst and a planning analyst in terms of educational background:
| Buying Analyst | Planning Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between buying analysts' and planning analysts' demographics:
| Buying Analyst | Planning Analyst | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.2% Female, 47.8% | Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.4% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 12% |