Hi all.
I’ve been offered a job as a purchasing admin for a small, growing company. It has plenty of scope to grow and as the company grows I will be “at the top of the pyramid” in their words. The starting wage is 22k, which seems fair as I havent actually worked in a purchasing role before. It would also include working with their databases.
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Does anyone think this is a worthwhile career move? I haven’t really been able to get a foot in the door for starting a career and im now in my mid 20s. They’ve said as time goes on my earnings will increase, and while it is an expensive area to live in, im quite a frugal person anyway and I would look at getting a role in a similar position back where I live after some time, where the COL is far lower.
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I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or thoughts to give me. Thanks in advance.
9 comments
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It’s a front for money laundering.
It’s a career path with qualifications and potential to climb a ladder. Depending on your company there is scope for travel as our buyers visit suppliers across Europe and China on occasion.
It can very worthwhile and it’s extremely transferrable, once you’re an experienced purchaser it doesn’t really matter what industry you’re working in so you should never really struggle to find a new job.
See if they’ll fund a CIPS qualification for you, a lot of employers do this and it’s a very useful qualification to have.
My wife started her buying career in virtually the same way at a small startup. She worked hard, always pushing for additional pay and responsibilities.
She’s 12 years into that career now and isn’t far from 6 figures in a part of the UK with a low cost of living. She works for a large corporate with good benefits.
Large companies on the high street like Next, John Lewis, Boots, etc. will have large buying teams, but so will companies you’ve never heard of that stock products for resale or manufacturing.
The typical hierarchy is something like admin assistant, assistant or junior buyer, buyer, senior buyer, buying manager… then into management positions away from the hands-on stuff.
It is a career rather than a job if you work hard at it.
I see you’ve asked if it is the kind of job you can just forget about when you leave the office. The answer is yes and no. Sometimes, you will need to put longer hours in, especially if you want to climb the ladder. It’ll pay off though.
I previously worked as a merchandiser for close to 5 years so had buying counterparts who I worked very closely with. Career progression is also pretty much same for a merchandiser as a buyer in the sense that they share the same job titles ie. Admin Assistant, Assistant, Junior, Manager, Senior so I’d like to think I can offer good first hand advice.
Progression is pretty slow, there’s a lot of positions you’ll need to go through. The step up from Admin assistant to Assistant can be pretty quick but progression from Assistant to Junior or Manager can take a while. I’ve known Assistant Buyers who have been in that position for 3-5 years. Bare in mind that most company’s with a buying division will generally be quite large so you’ll face a lot of competition if a vacancy comes up for a higher position.
It’s a career where you’ll need to grind. Don’t expect to be on 40k+ after a few years even if you’re brilliant at the job, the structure just doesn’t allow you to do that.
It can be rewarding when sales are good and when you can see your decisions directly making a positive impact but when it goes wrong which happens alot as it’s impossible to predict the market, expect alot of stress and justification to the head of buying. This is more for the Buyer and Senior Buyer though. Another good thing is you’ll never have to face issues alone as you work in big teams, you will always have help.
Lastly here are the approx salary’s you can expect per position which I’ve based on actual experience but it will vary greatly on the location, I’m in London. If you’re promoted internally you will almost always be on the lower end.
– Admin Assistant – 22k as you’re already on
– Assistant Buyer – 25k to 30k
– Junior Buyer – 30k to 38k
– Buyer – £40k to £48k
– Senior buyer – £50k +
Hope this helps.
I know a purchaser who works for a small supermarket chain who gets sent loads of free booze samples that they “have to” try out every weekend.
Tough gig, apparently.
It depends how you are terming purchasing I guess. There’s a few different options within that.
Goods for Resale Purchasing – sometimes called Merchandising – buying the items the customers will eventually purchase. This is pretty fast paced work, depending on the industry can be very seasonally driven, and can involve a fair amount of travel.
Goods not for Resale Purchasing – sometimes called Procurement – buying the items that are needed to run the place, think cleaning contracts, machinery, marketing etc. Not quite as fast paced but likely to involve higher spend.
Depending on the route you take it can set you up pretty comfortably. Procurement gives you the option to move into Public Sector work more easily which generally tends to be decent hours and less strategic (speaking from direct experience).
It’s likely not going to set your world on fire but negotiating with suppliers and building those relationships can be quite enjoyable as you move up. Private sector (depending on location) you could be looking at £50k after 5-8 years employment, maybe more if you find the right company!
No idea about the career but I really hope hope our purchaser is paid well as she is amazing. I work on a ship and I will literally send her a photo of some obscure ship part or tool and be like “not sure what this is or called, but I need one please”. And she will somehow get one.