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Senior sourcing analyst vs media buyer

The differences between senior sourcing analysts and media buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior sourcing analyst and a media buyer. Additionally, a senior sourcing analyst has an average salary of $84,801, which is higher than the $74,390 average annual salary of a media buyer.

The top three skills for a senior sourcing analyst include DOD, CI and intelligence analysis. The most important skills for a media buyer are digital marketing, campaign performance, and media buying.

Senior sourcing analyst vs media buyer overview

Senior Sourcing AnalystMedia Buyer
Yearly salary$84,801$74,390
Hourly rate$40.77$35.76
Growth rate3%8%
Number of jobs12,50420,884
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 87%
Average age4848
Years of experience66

What does a senior sourcing analyst do?

A senior sourcing analyst is an individual who oversees the planning and purchasing process for specific commodities and who supports new product launches. He/She or she should be able to establish relationships with suppliers to help in the sourcing process and in the negotiation of deals and contracts to ensure compliance with budgetary requirements. The position requires core skills such as strong analytical, mathematical, and negotiating skills and deep knowledge of the industry the analyst is working in. The education requirements for the job include an associate or bachelor's degree in business, supply chain management, marketing, or a related field.

What does a media buyer do?

Media Buyers are marketing professionals who manage the company's advertisements. They create the company's media plan to determine the advertising needs of the company. They negotiate with external providers to get the best advertisement placement values. To do this, Media Buyers are expected to conduct thorough research on the different advertising companies, networks, media, size of placement, and length of advertisement. Their research must consider the target market and determine the best media to reach their target market. Media Buyers should have good negotiation skills and must be able to maintain good working relationships with providers.

Senior sourcing analyst vs media buyer salary

Senior sourcing analysts and media buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Sourcing AnalystMedia Buyer
Average salary$84,801$74,390
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $112,000Between $56,000 And $98,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CABurlington, VT
Highest paying stateCaliforniaVermont
Best paying companyPayPalBloomberg
Best paying industryManufacturingProfessional

Differences between senior sourcing analyst and media buyer education

There are a few differences between a senior sourcing analyst and a media buyer in terms of educational background:

Senior Sourcing AnalystMedia Buyer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 87%
Most common majorBusinessCommunication
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior sourcing analyst vs media buyer demographics

Here are the differences between senior sourcing analysts' and media buyers' demographics:

Senior Sourcing AnalystMedia Buyer
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 62.8% Female, 37.2%Male, 30.1% Female, 69.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between senior sourcing analyst and media buyer duties and responsibilities

Senior sourcing analyst example responsibilities.

  • Generate candidate pipeline by sourcing passive candidates using company database, LinkedIn, marketing campaign leads, personal/professional networking leads/referrals.
  • Prepare RFI, RFQ and RFP documents and intercede in the decision-making process involving vendor selection and negotiations.
  • Assist in liaison efforts with other DoD intelligence organizations making an improvement in products and processes.
  • Utilize SIGINT databases to accurately draft product reports and respond to requests for information supporting C7F.
  • Prepare all documentation to analyze vendor proposals, including RFP's, RFQ's, pricing matrices.
  • Develop and lead the execution of the RFx in process management and evaluation with solution recommendation analysis.
  • Show more

Media buyer example responsibilities.

  • Manage both PPC and display buys across a network of clients.
  • Manage day to day performance expectation of SEO, SEM, and outside vendors.
  • Manage the client's Youtube page and report monthly on all social media platforms.
  • Manage the @ RCIHelp twitter account and provide RCI consumers with direct responses and posts.
  • Implement, alter and write algorithms using SQL in order to increase efficiency within the portfolios manage.
  • Negotiate, develop, monitor and manage delivery of book campaigns on CPA, CPC and CPM models.
  • Show more

Senior sourcing analyst vs media buyer skills

Common senior sourcing analyst skills
  • DOD, 7%
  • CI, 7%
  • Intelligence Analysis, 7%
  • Strategic Sourcing, 6%
  • Intelligence Community, 4%
  • Project Management, 4%
Common media buyer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 18%
  • Campaign Performance, 9%
  • Media Buying, 8%
  • Facebook, 7%
  • Google Analytics, 6%
  • Media Planning, 5%

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