Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between inventory specialists and inventory clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an inventory specialist has an average salary of $35,752, which is higher than the $32,666 average annual salary of an inventory clerk.
The top three skills for an inventory specialist include customer service, sales floor and reservations. The most important skills for an inventory clerk are customer service, data entry, and inventory control.
| Inventory Specialist | Inventory Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $35,752 | $32,666 |
| Hourly rate | $17.19 | $15.70 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 161,107 | 204,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An Inventory Specialist's responsibility is to oversee the inventory in a warehouse or establishment. Most of the tasks of an Inventory Specialist revolve around monitoring the requisition, storage, and deliveries of supplies and merchandise to ensure the quality and quantity of the products. Moreover, the Inventory Specialist also has the responsibility to coordinate with store management when issues arise, train newly hired staff to be a valuable part of the workforce, and provide inventory reports and records to the administration.
Inventory clerks or inventory control clerks manage and maintain all inventory coming in and out. They ensure that the items are stored and stocked in their proper places. They have to train less experienced clerks as well as prepare balance and shortage reports. They also need to report any stock issues, place orders when necessary, prepare a list of lacking products, and take note of unusable items. A good inventory clerk must be detail-oriented, organized, and have relevant experience in inventory control.
Inventory specialists and inventory clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inventory Specialist | Inventory Clerk | |
| Average salary | $35,752 | $32,666 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $49,000 | Between $26,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Ensign Energy | BD |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an inventory specialist and an inventory clerk in terms of educational background:
| Inventory Specialist | Inventory Clerk | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between inventory specialists' and inventory clerks' demographics:
| Inventory Specialist | Inventory Clerk | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1% | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |