How To Become A Material Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a material analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Companies hire material analysts to manage inventory and shipping of goods, minimizing loss and overheads, thus keeping company expenses at the lowest possible. They make sure every material necessary for production is in stock and manage distribution to satisfy the needs of the supply chain.

As a material analyst, you will be responsible for creating an annual plan for material acquisitions, and sometimes you might also be involved in quality control processes. You will assess the required quantities of materials and make sure material specifications match their projected use.

A degree in business management or global operations will most likely be necessary to land a material analyst position. Completing a supply and logistics management course might also suffice, the most important being familiar with management practices and inventory control software.

ScoreMaterial AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,092

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 7.80%

Black or African American 9.03%

Hispanic or Latino 12.39%

Unknown 4.40%

White 65.60%

Gender

female 46.56%

male 53.44%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a material analyst

Explore material analyst education requirements

Most common material analyst degrees

Bachelor's

64.8 %

Associate

18.2 %

Master's

9.1 %

Start to develop specific material analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Supply Chain	16.53%
Logistics	6.96%
MRP	6.79%
Continuous Improvement	4.16%
Part Numbers	4.04%

Complete relevant material analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New material analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a material analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real material analyst resumes.

Research material analyst duties and responsibilities

Manage over 120 raw materials on KanBan and daily delivery systems.
Create and manage MPS (master production schedule) for MAU factory.
Manage and expedite delivery to ensure on time delivery (OTD) to customer.
Communicate with suppliers and MRO's on a regular basis to manage projects and ensure customer satisfaction.

Prepare your material analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your material analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a material analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable material analyst resume templates

Build a professional material analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your material analyst resume.