Purchasing Agent: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
Purchasing Agents purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (65% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 65% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (O*NET-SOC 13-1023.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Every page for Purchasing Agents
What purchasing agents do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
- Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
- Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
- Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
- Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
- Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
- Hire, train, or supervise purchasing clerks, buyers, and expediters.
- Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: English Language, Law and Government, Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Administrative, Mathematics.
Software purchasing agents use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
- CPR Visual EstimatorFinancial analysis software
- Construction Management Software ProEstAnalytical or scientific software
- Cost estimating softwareFinancial analysis software
- Database reporting softwareData base reporting software
- Google AdsSales and marketing software
- IBM CostimaterFinancial analysis software
- IBM Power Systems softwareEnterprise system management software
- Inventory management systemsInventory management software
- Oracle E-Business Suite FinancialsFinancial analysis software
- QSM SLIM SuiteAnalytical or scientific software
- Resources Calculations Incorporated SoftCostAnalytical or scientific software
Also called: Buyer, Contract Administrator (Contract Admin), Procurement and Contracting Administrator (Procurement and Contracting Admin), Procurement and Contracting Buyer, Procurement Official, Procurement Specialist.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.