Purchasing department clerk vs buyer

The differences between purchasing department clerks and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a purchasing department clerk, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a buyer has an average salary of $54,049, which is higher than the $37,684 average annual salary of a purchasing department clerk.

The top three skills for a purchasing department clerk include purchase orders, data entry and expedite. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Purchasing department clerk vs buyer overview

	Purchasing Department Clerk	Buyer
Yearly salary	$37,684	$54,049
Hourly rate	$18.12	$25.99
Growth rate	-3%	-
Number of jobs	102,459	23,589
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	46	47
Years of experience	2	-

Purchasing department clerk vs buyer salary

Purchasing department clerks and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Purchasing Department Clerk	Buyer
Average salary	$37,684	$54,049
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $47,000	Between $37,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	-	Englewood, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between purchasing department clerk and buyer education

There are a few differences between a purchasing department clerk and a buyer in terms of educational background:

	Purchasing Department Clerk	Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Purchasing department clerk vs buyer demographics

Here are the differences between purchasing department clerks' and buyers' demographics:

	Purchasing Department Clerk	Buyer
Average age	46	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.5% Female, 71.5%	Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 7.1% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 75.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	15%

Differences between purchasing department clerk and buyer duties and responsibilities

Purchasing department clerk example responsibilities.

Manage activities of purchasing, production planning and scheduling, inventory management, warehousing and logistics.
Check stock levels through use of MRP.
Process MRO orders and consumable material requisitions.
Review requisitions for MRO inventory and facilities maintenance agreements.
Complete accurate demographic and insurance information, including verification of insurance according to private, Medicaid, and/or Medicare guidelines.
Complete accurate demographic and insurance information, including verification of insurance according to private, Medicaid, and/or Medicare guidelines.

Buyer example responsibilities.

Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
Manage business relationship with Japanese OEM of wide-format printer engines.
Manage MRB and IQA escalations to facilitate defective material resolutions.

Purchasing department clerk vs buyer skills

Common purchasing department clerk skills

Purchase Orders, 52%
Data Entry, 38%
Expedite, 3%
Computer System, 3%
Surgery, 2%
Fax Machines, 2%

Common buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 22%
Customer Service, 11%
Logistics, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
MRP, 4%
Commodities, 3%