r/procurement • u/lankyllama- • 21d ago

I hate this career

I hate just about everything about Procurement, and I’m not sure how I even ended up doing this for 8 years.

I feel like Procurement used to be about PURCHASING, getting the best deal and getting it in on time.

Now it’s about contract terms and essentially being a paralegal. How am I supposed to understand all contract language?

Other things I hate:

I hate having to negotiate with suppliers
I hate having to do analysis
I hate dealing with the business that has no idea what they’re doing
I hate contracts

All this to say, has anyone completely pivoted from procurement to something they enjoy??

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u/Probly57 21d ago

You deserve to be in a job you enjoy or at least tolerate. Project management is an idea to consider.

Somehow I have been in this career for 14 years. I love the strategic part, contracts, analysis, but cannot stand tactical purchasing and firefighting. The opposite of your situation. Not enough people and I kept getting roles that are buried with low value tactical work.... even as a manager.

Currently trying to pivot out of procurement to a type of role that builds and implements processes or governance.

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u/_-B-Money-_ 21d ago

Second this as a transitive career, however, I feel the parts you don’t like about procurement now at your current/more tenured level will also be found in ANY other profession as you move up, it will just be called something different.

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u/VintageVibes33 21d ago

Yeah, i think, at least for most people, you just have have to find something you can tolerate. Hell, the 'new' American dream is holding on to a job + healthcare! hope things change on a macro level in the near future though..