Find a Job You Really Want In
Yes, retail building materials is a good career path. The retail building materials industry has seen a lot of press coverage over the last few years because of shortages and supply chain troubles, but that just proves how important this industry is.
If you’re thinking about a career in retail building materials, you’re sure to find that there is always demand. You might even find that you can tailor your career to your interests.
If this sounds good to you, the following list of jobs will give you an idea of what professions are out there in the retail building materials field.
The 5 Best-Paying Jobs in Retail Building Materials
Retail building materials is big business, which means that many of the highest paying jobs in any industry are still big money makers when it comes to this industry.
If you’re headed to school to learn a skill, you can turn that into a career in retail building materials. If you love the building materials industry, there’s a chance you can work your way into one of these positions and turn your passion into a paycheck.
Check out these top-paying jobs in the retail building materials business.
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Average Annual Salary: $97,000
Being in charge of a region of retail building material stores is a huge undertaking, and those people who have proven themselves to be adept managers can rise to this level and receive the pay that comes with it. This job can be achieved without a formal education, but there is a lot of experience and time involved with getting to this level of management.
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Average Annual Salary: $102,000
Every business needs a human resources department, especially when you’re working on the scale that many of these giant retail locations are. Moving up the ranks of human resources to the director level requires a lot of experience and education.
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Average Annual Salary: $112,000
From a small mom-and-pop materials store to the largest ones in the country, marketing is an important tool. The right marketing for a company can make them the leader in their field and ensure more sales and better name recognition. This is all possible when there’s a great marketing director at the helm.
Becoming the marketing director will not only require education and experience, but you’re going to need a good portfolio of previous marketing successes before you slip into this high-paying position.
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Legal Representative
Average Annual Salary: N/A
The bigger the retail merchandise business is, the more likely they are to have its own legal department. Anything in the legal field is going to be pretty well-paying, and that’s no exception when it comes to building materials.
Most of your work in this position will be focused on anything that could impact the business. This can include changes in hiring laws, problems with manufacturers, and tax law changes. You might find that you’re working in an advisory position, or you could be handling lawsuits or potential litigation situations.
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Finance and Accounting
Average Annual Salary: N/A
Behind the scenes, there’s a lot of financial wheeling and dealings to consider. Getting inventory into your store to sell means having the money to buy that inventory in the first place, which often requires a bank loan. How do you get a loan for materials that you hope to sell in the future? With a good finance and accounting department, of course.
These jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree, sometimes a master’s or more, and a focus on finance. The interesting thing is you don’t need to know a lot about building materials for this position, but you do need to know a lot about banking, accounting, and asset-based lending.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Retail Building Materials
One of the best things about the retail building materials business is that it’s very welcoming to entry-level workers who want to get their foot in the door right away and start earning money. If you have drive and ambition, you can turn one of these entry-level jobs into a stepping stone to a great career.
If you’re not looking for a life-long job but would rather have some quick cash and something to do, this is also a great place to start.
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Average Annual Salary: $29,000
Just about every business needs a call center representative these days, and you won’t always be working on the phone. Many call center reps now work from home and balance their time between phone calls and answering live chat messages.
This requires some on-the-job training, but after that, your job is to help people who want to order products or who have purchased them and are having a problem.
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Retail Customer Service
Average Annual Salary: N/A
In the retail building materials business, a customer service representative is going to be working with a lot of contractors and some home DIY people; it all depends on your employer.
Usually, you’ll be helping people place orders for materials that they need for a building or renovation project. Sometimes, you’ll have to help them figure out what they need, so some experience in the field is good.
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Sales Service Representative
Average Annual Salary: N/A
The role of sales service representative is an entry-level position, but it does require some natural selling and relationship-building skills. Your job is to represent your company to retailers and create a good relationship, so your brand’s products are what they feature and sell.
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Counter Sales Associate
Average Annual Salary: N/A
A counter sales associate can be found in many different types of building materials retail shops. Think of the person who you encounter in a department of the store or at the checkout, and that’s your counter sales associate. They’ll help ring you through or place your order.
This is an entry-level position, and often, it isn’t even a requirement to know what products you sell. If you learn the business a bit more and understand the products, you might be able to move up and provide more value to customers.
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Average Annual Salary: $31,000
The merchandiser in a retail building materials shop is responsible for stocking, arranging, and displaying products. They’re not marketing them, but they are making them look appealing in the store, making sure they’re accessible and that the products are stocked.
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Average Annual Salary: $31,000
Here’s an easy way to get your foot in the door of a building materials company, especially if you’re strong – work in the warehouse. Most companies in this business are always looking for people to work in the warehouse. It’s a difficult job, physically, but it’s a steady job, and you can learn about the business and the products.
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Average Annual Salary: $31,000
The inventory clerk is part of the sales team and performs a vital role. It’s up to the inventory clerk to stay on top of what’s been sold, what’s in inventory, and what needs to be ordered. They can’t control the market, of course, but when things are going smoothly, they ensure that there is always a supply on-hand of building products.
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CDL Truck Driver
Average Annual Salary: N/A
The retail building materials need to get from the manufacturer or lumbar yard to their retail destination, and this is where a truck driver comes into play. Having a CDL or commercial driver’s license is a pre-requisite for this job, but once you’ve earned that, you’re ready to roll.
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Average Annual Salary: $33,000
Moving heavy lumber and other building materials isn’t something a human can do alone; there is equipment that’s designed for that, and the people that run that equipment are forklift operators. Working a forklift takes some training as it’s a skill indeed, but once you know how to do it, you’re in business and will secure a position in a variety of businesses.
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Average Annual Salary: $44,000
You’ll need some training to do this job, but that’s okay; most retail building material businesses that offer this service will train you. A tool technician specializes in repairing and maintaining the tools used in the building trade.
These tools could be ones the business rents to customers, or you could offer the service to people who own their own tools. In either case, it’s your job to ensure that the tools are in good working order. You’ll need to know how to work these tools and how to repair them.
Why Choose a Career in Retail Building Materials
The best reason to choose a job in retail building materials is that it’s a steady business that will always have a need for employees. You can sculpt your career to fit your interests, but you know that in this field, you’re basically guaranteed a job.
Working in this industry also brings a lot of other benefits that will make it clear why you should pursue a career in retail building materials.
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Job security. Because the building industry is not going to go away anytime soon, there is a lot of security for retailers who sell building materials. Whether your business is selling to contractors or to the public directly, this is a business that has tons of job security.
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Opportunity for advancement. Go ahead and sculpt your career to fit your interests. That’s a great thing about this business; there are so many different careers available to you that you can specialize in the thing that you find most interesting and then start climbing the ladder until you find the job you want.
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Easy entry. If you need a job and you need it right now, then head on over to a building materials retail outlet because they’re sure to be hiring. Don’t worry about endless applications, interviews, and then not getting the job. This is an industry that has openings all the time.
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On top of building and design trends. For people who love watching buildings go up, seeing design and architectural trends emerge, and who love the feeling of making or building something, this is a great field.
These things can be very compelling and inspiring, which makes working in this field feel new and fresh on a regular basis. Plus, you can keep up with your friends who watch decorating shows all day long, except you’re now a subject expert.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Retail Building Materials
Many of the jobs in retail building materials are entry-level jobs that require you to either have a lot of muscle or great communication and customer service skills. This means that having an advanced education or certifications isn’t as important as it is in some fields, but you might want to get some if you hope to move up the corporate ladder.
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High school or GED. The first step is getting your high school degree or a GED. This isn’t necessarily required, but it can help you get a job, as many people consider this a prerequisite to any job.
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On-the-job training. The training you get in regard to your specific job, and the company you work for will be the most valuable training for any position in the retail building materials sector. This is true across the board.
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Associates or tech certifications. If you want to move up, you might want to get an associate’s degree in business, sales, or marketing, or you might want to learn about machining, mechanics, or robotics. Picking up some classes can help you specialize and learn more about your field of choice.
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Bachelor’s degree. If you’re looking to get into corporate headquarters and management, then you’re going to need a bachelor’s degree. You can pursue this first and then get into retail, or you could work in the business and learn about the industry while earning a degree part-time. There are a lot of ways to approach some of the higher-paying jobs in retail building supply.
What Do People Working in Retail Building Materials Do?
There are a lot of different avenues you can pursue in this industry; some will require no education, and others may require some advanced school or some classes in a specialized area.
The building business is booming and being on the retail end of it is another avenue of job security. Whether you’re just starting out and want an entry-level job, or you’ve got a degree and are looking to get into the corporate world, this professional avenue offers both paths.
For some people, it’s really all about being in the know about everything that has to do with building, decorating, and remodeling spaces. This is a wonderful place to start or to just keep your finger on the pulse of this exciting field. And if you love working with people, even better because any job in retail is going to require a lot of communicating with others.
Author
Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.
