Purchasing Agents

• Obtain information about goods or services.
• Confer with personnel to coordinate business operations.
• Analyze business or financial data.
• Analyze market conditions or trends.
• Develop business relationships.
• Estimate demand for products or services.
• Evaluate applicable laws and regulations to determine impact on organizational activities.
• Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.
• Maintain data in information systems or databases.
• Develop technical specifications for systems or equipment.

• Having telephone conversations.
• Using e-mail.
• Working with a group or team.
• The importance of being accurate or exact.
• Making decisions that impact co-workers or company results.
• Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
• Meeting strict deadlines.
• Sitting.
• Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.

• Fashion Merchandising
• Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations, General

• Agricultural Business and Management
• Apparel and Textiles
• General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations
• Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations

Enrolling in a community college can be a great place to start your four-year degree. While all 31 Minnesota State community colleges, technical colleges and universities offer all or part of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (a 40-credit package of general education courses accepted for transfer to other state colleges and universities, the University of Minnesota, and some private colleges and universities), not all two-year colleges offer degrees intended to transfer to a four-year bachelor's degree.

If you plan to transfer to obtain a four-year bachelor's degree, it is important to know which degree path is right for you:

• Associate of Arts (AA) degrees offered at community colleges are designed to transfer into liberal arts four-year majors.
• Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degrees offered at community and technical colleges transfer into specific four-year majors and will likely require completing additional general education courses at a university.
• Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees offered at technical and community colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.
• Diplomas and certificates offered at technical colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.

Talk to a transfer specialist as early as possible to determine the best associate degree for your goals. Be sure to review your Degree Audit Report (DARS) each semester to best prepare for transfer. Get more help understanding transfer using the tools below.

• Visit Transferology to see if your courses will transfer.
• Search Articulation Agreements to find formal transfer agreements between schools.

• Negotiating—Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Persuading Others—Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Learning New Things—Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Making Decisions—Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Managing Time—Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Solving Complex Problems—Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

• Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Administration and Management—Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics—Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Production and Processing—Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Economics and Accounting—Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Law and Government—Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

• Conventional—Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Enterprising—Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Supply Chain Managers
• Logisticians
• Management Analysts
• Purchasing Managers
• Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
• Cost Estimators
• Risk Management Specialists
• Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

• Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
• Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
• Management of Companies and Enterprises
• Machinery Manufacturing

• Supply Chain Managers
• Logisticians
• Management Analysts
• Purchasing Managers
• Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
• Cost Estimators
• Risk Management Specialists
• Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers