Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between materials specialists and warehouse workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a materials specialist has an average salary of $44,143, which is higher than the $33,010 average annual salary of a warehouse worker.
The top three skills for a materials specialist include customer service, logistics and data entry. The most important skills for a warehouse worker are pallets, customer service, and basic math.
| Materials Specialist | Warehouse Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $44,143 | $33,010 |
| Hourly rate | $21.22 | $15.87 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 38,001 | 255,502 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | High School Diploma, 59% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A materials specialist is responsible for researching efficient and high-quality materials for production and manufacturing processes, following the designs and specifications of the engineering team and design analysts. Materials specialists identify cost-reduction materials by coordinating with trusted suppliers and vendors and determine the suitability of these items in the supply chain. They conduct data and statistical analysis to develop strategic techniques that would minimize the company's expenditures and cost. A materials specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing expense reports and discuss findings to the senior management.
Warehouse workers are employees assigned to handle tasks inside the company's warehouse. They are in charge of managing the entry and exit of goods inside the warehouse, ensure that the inventory is up-to-date, and check the quality of the goods that are stored. Warehouse workers receive the items that are delivered to the warehouse, ensure that the items are complete using the delivery list, and keep the items safe in the designated area in the warehouse. They also clear any items that will exit the warehouse by ensuring that only the items that are on the list will be removed from the warehouse, and checking if these items are safely packed before leaving.
Materials specialists and warehouse workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Materials Specialist | Warehouse Worker | |
| Average salary | $44,143 | $33,010 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $79,000 | Between $26,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | Indianapolis, IN |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Indiana |
| Best paying company | Apple | United Natural Foods |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a materials specialist and a warehouse worker in terms of educational background:
| Materials Specialist | Warehouse Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | High School Diploma, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between materials specialists' and warehouse workers' demographics:
| Materials Specialist | Warehouse Worker | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% | Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |