Compare Occupations

	Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products	Purchasing Managers	Supply Chain Managers	Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products	Cost Estimators
SUMMARY	29% Low Risk	21% Low Risk	21% Low Risk	38% Low Risk	32% Low Risk
JOB SCORE	6.0/10	6.3/10	7.2/10	5.8/10	4.3/10
POLLING	52% (Moderate Risk, Based on 48 votes)	44% (Moderate Risk, Based on 152 votes)	42% (Moderate Risk, Based on 130 votes)	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 39 votes)	50% (Moderate Risk, Based on 126 votes)
GROWTH by year 2034	5.8%	3.1%	6.1%	5.8%	-4.2%
WAGES	$75,650 or $36.37 per hour	$139,510 or $67.07 per hour	$102,010 or $49.04 per hour	$75,650 or $36.37 per hour	$77,070 or $37.05 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	486,900	81,240	213,000	486,900	219,530
SNOWFLAKE [?] The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
DESCRIPTION	Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Purchase raw or semifinished materials for manufacturing. May negotiate contracts.	Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.	Direct or coordinate production, purchasing, warehousing, distribution, or financial forecasting services or activities to limit costs and improve accuracy, customer service, or safety. Examine existing procedures or opportunities for streamlining activities to meet product distribution needs. Direct the movement, storage, or processing of inventory.	Purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. Includes tree farm contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers. May negotiate contracts.	Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.

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Curious how automation and AI could affect your career? Our comparison tool lets you view two or more jobs side by side, helping you quickly spot differences in risk level, pay, growth, and popularity. All of this is based on a mix of academic research, user polling, and official labour data.

Automation Risk

Each occupation shows a probability of automation. A higher score means machines and algorithms are more likely to take over the role in the future.

Job Score

A quick summary of how a job performs overall — factoring in wages, growth, volume, and automation risk. It’s a handy way to see the bigger picture at a glance.

Polling Data

Thousands of visitors cast their votes on how “automatable” each job feels. These community insights are shown alongside the calculated probabilities.

Growth & Wages

See how fast each occupation is projected to grow and what people earn on average. High wages don’t always mean high security — automation risk still matters.

Volume of Workers

Explore how many people currently work in each occupation and in which year the data was recorded. Popularity can affect how disruptive automation will be for the wider economy.

The Snowflake Diagram

Each snowflake visualises the balance between automation risk, wages, growth, and job volume. Bigger and greener areas mean stronger performance in that dimension.

Use this comparison page to research careers, guide students, or simply explore the future of work. All data is regularly updated to keep the results relevant.