Buyer

If you’ve ever fantasized about winning a shopping spree at your favorite store, you should know that “winning” isn’t the only way to get your splurging sanctioned. “Working” is also an option, if you become a Buyer.

When you’re a Buyer, it’s your job to shop. Not for yourself, but for your employer, who gives you a budget and pays you to spend it on their behalf. It’s kind of like being a Hunter: Your job as a Buyer is to stalk the best deals on the best stuff, then pull the trigger on the purchase when you’ve found the right merchandise, at the right time, in the right quantities, and at the right price.

What you buy depends on what kind of Buyer you are. If you’re a Retail Buyer, you purchase merchandise to resell on stores’ shelves, whether it’s a hardware, toy, or furniture store. If you’re a Wholesale Buyer, you do the same thing, but for wholesalers instead of retailers. If you’re a Fashion Buyer, meanwhile, you “shop” the seasonal collections of Fashion Designers for outfits to sell at department stores and boutiques.

Merchandise isn’t the only thing Buyers buy, however. If you’re an Art Buyer, for instance, you purchase art to be displayed in galleries and museums, or in private homes and offices. If you’re a Materials Buyer, meanwhile, you buy the raw materials that are used in building and manufacturing. And if you’re a Media Buyer, you buy advertising space — in newspapers and magazines, and on television channels, billboards, and websites — from Advertising-Sales Representatives.

Whatever kind of Buyer you are, you study consumer trends, then travel the world in search of the best products, vendors, and prices. (The professional equivalent of a shopping spree!)