How To Become A Contractor Buyer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a contractor buyer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Contractor Buyers work hand-in-hand with contractors to ensure that projects are on budget and cost-effective. You will need to be a communicator, have math skills, and exhibit integrity. You will need to procure products, materials, subcontractors and assess the contractor's potential needs.

Contractor buyers maintain detailed records and know how to keep track of documents and purchasing databases. Being a contractor buyer can be a fun role. You will need to check out design houses, lumber yards and purchase tools for the project. Buyers are responsible for planning, selecting, and buying merchandise. You will need to do market research, look at competitors' websites, do an analysis, check product availability, and monitor purchase orders. You will also need to create reports of the contractor.

Contractor buyers have a very busy job, and in some companies, they will need to have a bachelor's degree in business or a related field. You may also need to have a contractor license so you know what you are doing. If you are good at your job, a contractor buyer may be able to make on average $43,000.

ScoreContractor BuyerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,785

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.89%

Asian 5.95%

Black or African American 9.45%

Hispanic or Latino 15.55%

Unknown 4.28%

White 63.88%

Gender

female 64.66%

male 35.34%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.7

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.0

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a contractor buyer

Explore contractor buyer education requirements

Most common contractor buyer degrees

Bachelor's

55.7 %

Associate

23.1 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Start to develop specific contractor buyer skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	17.72%
Purchase Orders	16.07%
Data Entry	6.98%
Logistics	3.80%
Customer Orders	3.59%

Complete relevant contractor buyer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New contractor buyers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a contractor buyer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real contractor buyer resumes.

Research contractor buyer duties and responsibilities

Manage OEM IBM customer account from quote to cash.
Manage returned inventory (RMA's), and provide internal reporting as needed.
Facilitate and manage the logistics of large, multifamily cooperative purchases.
Manage escalations and expedites process in support of shorten interval requests.

Prepare your contractor buyer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your contractor buyer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a contractor buyer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Contractor Buyer Resume templates

Build a professional Contractor Buyer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Contractor Buyer resume.

Apply for contractor buyer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a contractor buyer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do contractor buyers rate their job?