If you’re one of those rare birds who actually enjoys holiday shopping, have you ever wondered what it’s like to do it for a living? I’m talking about purchasers and buyers for retail stores–the people who decide what their store will sell. In October, the New York Times interviewed some buyers for well-known NY stores to find out what the job is really like.

Apparently, it’s comparable to spending all your savings at the racetrack every day:

Buying for a home furnishings store (or any store, for that matter) could be considered a form of legalized gambling. No matter how long the business has been around or how well the buyers think they know their customers, there is always at least one surprise each season.

There’s no accounting for taste. Shoppers have snatched up fairly hideous sleeping ceramic pigs but passed on the similarly themed hippopotamus bowl. Professional buyers have to be thick-skinned when the public passes judgment on their taste by turning up their noses at certain items (though one seasoned pro quoted by the Times admits to feeling embarrassed every time it happens). On the up side, however, a hot pick makes you look like the next Nostradamus, no matter how counterintuitive (Crocs, anyone?).

Training for a Purchasing Career
In educational terms, the career training you need to become a buyer often falls into the unsexily-named category of supply chain management. This covers pretty much anyone whose job is to ensure that a business has the products it needs, whether that’s a tech company that just needs printer ink or a retail store that has to continually replenish its shelves with hot new items. The exception to this is fashion merchandisers, who get their own degree due to the complexity of purchasing in the industry.

If you’ve got a good eye for what’s hip (or about to be), this career might be worth a look. Roller-coaster economy aside, Americans aren’t really looking to slow down their consumerism anytime soon. Why not make it work for you?