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The differences between buying analysts and pricing analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a buying analyst and a pricing analyst. Additionally, a buying analyst has an average salary of $77,425, which is higher than the $64,168 average annual salary of a pricing analyst.
The top three skills for a buying analyst include purchase orders, delivery schedules and MRP. The most important skills for a pricing analyst are pricing strategy, strong analytical, and customer service.
| Buying Analyst | Pricing Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $77,425 | $64,168 |
| Hourly rate | $37.22 | $30.85 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 22,966 | 73,462 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 48 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
Pricing analysts are responsible for examining competitors' pricing strategies and industry standards to aid businesses in determining and setting competitive pricing. These professionals study consumer habits and behavior to gauge their willingness to pay for products and examine consumer spending. They conduct impact and mathematical analyses, and large-scale research to come up with their conclusions. Other duties and responsibilities include developing revenue forecasts and statistical models, monitoring industry trends, and developing pricing tools that can quickly respond to the rapidly changing market trends and needs.
Buying analysts and pricing analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Buying Analyst | Pricing Analyst | |
| Average salary | $77,425 | $64,168 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $113,000 | Between $46,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | YellowHammer | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a buying analyst and a pricing analyst in terms of educational background:
| Buying Analyst | Pricing Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between buying analysts' and pricing analysts' demographics:
| Buying Analyst | Pricing Analyst | |
| Average age | 48 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.2% Female, 47.8% | Male, 53.3% Female, 46.7% |
| 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, 5.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 13.0% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 10% |