Timber buyer vs purchasing assistant

The differences between timber buyers and purchasing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a timber buyer, becoming a purchasing assistant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a timber buyer has an average salary of $62,879, which is higher than the $38,331 average annual salary of a purchasing assistant.

The top three skills for a timber buyer include harvest, property lines and . The most important skills for a purchasing assistant are purchase orders, purchase requisitions, and customer service.

Timber buyer vs purchasing assistant overview

	Timber Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Yearly salary	$62,879	$38,331
Hourly rate	$30.23	$18.43
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	8,875	8,415
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	47	48
Years of experience	-	6

Timber buyer vs purchasing assistant salary

Timber buyers and purchasing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Timber Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Average salary	$62,879	$38,331
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $97,000	Between $31,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state	-	Maryland
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between timber buyer and purchasing assistant education

There are a few differences between a timber buyer and a purchasing assistant in terms of educational background:

	Timber Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Forestry	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Pennsylvania

Timber buyer vs purchasing assistant demographics

Here are the differences between timber buyers' and purchasing assistants' demographics:

	Timber Buyer	Purchasing Assistant
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 97.4% Female, 2.6%	Male, 22.8% Female, 77.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 77.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between timber buyer and purchasing assistant duties and responsibilities

Timber buyer example responsibilities.

Survey and identify said boundaries, contract with logging contractors to efficiently harvest lands and manage contract from start to finish.
Assure suppliers comply with safety and quality alignments within company standards and manage non-conformance reporting for logistics as per company policy.
Offer financial and practical solutions for harvest and/or reforestation with respect to landowners' objectives.
Assure suppliers comply with safety and quality alignments within company standards and manage non-conformance reporting for logistics as per company policy.
Purchase all components to support NPI development builds and serve as primary interface to transition projects from development to manufacturing.

Purchasing assistant example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process and play a key role in minimizing the cost of printing.
Schedule and manage new product trials, liaise with vendors, surgeons and specialty coordinators.
Manage activities of purchasing, production planning and scheduling, inventory management, warehousing and logistics.
Master point of service (POS) computer system for automate order taking.
Input of purchase orders into ERP system, order acknowledgments, follow-up, and expedition of orders.
Prepare purchase orders using MRP, inspect incoming shipments for quality, and attend press checks for production approval.

Timber buyer vs purchasing assistant skills

Common timber buyer skills

Harvest, 80%
Property Lines, 20%

Common purchasing assistant skills

Purchase Orders, 30%
Purchase Requisitions, 18%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 8%
Logistics, 3%
POS, 2%

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Timber Buyer
Timber Buyer vs Purchasing Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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