How To Become A Purchasing Manager/Sales: What It Is and Career Path

What is a purchasing manager/sales and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average purchasing manager/sales salary is $54,809. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a purchasing manager/sales. Purchasing managers/sales with a Certified Sales Professional (CSP) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 23,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePurchasing Manager/SalesUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,809

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 7.68%

Black or African American 8.87%

Hispanic or Latino 12.22%

Unknown 4.39%

White 66.07%

Gender

female 28.52%

male 71.48%

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 purchasing manager/sales

Explore purchasing manager/sales education requirements

Most common purchasing manager/sales degrees

Bachelor's

56.4 %

Associate

19.4 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific purchasing manager/sales skills

Skills	Percentages
Purchase Orders	19.28%
Customer Service	15.06%
Product Line	12.59%
Delivery Dates	11.63%
Inventory Control	4.80%

Complete relevant purchasing manager/sales training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New purchasing managers/sales 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 purchasing manager/sales based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real purchasing manager/sales resumes.

Research purchasing manager/sales duties and responsibilities

Manage all purchasing activities including creating POs, RFQs and assessing quotes.
Implement and enforce SalesForce usage for entering leads and using the system through the customer sales cycle.
Direct and train personnel in areas of data processing POS and warehouse operations.
Generate customer ECNs for approve changes to allow production flow to accommodate quality and ISO requirements.

Prepare your purchasing manager/sales resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your purchasing manager/sales 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 purchasing manager/sales resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable purchasing manager/sales resume templates

Build a professional purchasing manager/sales 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 purchasing manager/sales resume.