A purchasing agent is hired by a company that buys a certain product – or range of products – in the course of their business. Additionally, the purchasing agent may also be hired to oversee the purchasing of goods and other supplies as requested by outside contractors involved in the company’s business. Purchasing agents may sometimes work in groups, each agent responsible for a particular type of goods, which is quite common in some high-ranking companies that frequently have to deal with a large number of different goods and stocks.
Becoming a purchasing agent takes a variety of skills and mostly knowledge about the current market environment. A good purchasing agent must be able to strike good deals for the company that employs them, ensuring a steady supply of the goods that are needed in their business and helping improve their operations by any means necessary. In some cases, a purchasing agent can be given some quite high privileges and be responsible for a lot of the traffic of goods within the company’s operations.
A purchasing agent’s annual salary ranges between $60,000 – $83,000 in most cases, though the job can pay a lot more than the industry average in some special situations. The specific size of the salary mostly depends on the candidate’s experience and prior working positions, and some companies are readily willing to provide good incentives and bonuses to candidates for the position with a sufficient degree of expertise.