Parts Salespersons
US occupation · SOC 41-2022
Job titles people report: Parts Advisor, Parts Consultant, Parts Counter Salesperson, Parts Counterman, Parts Counterperson, Parts Person, Parts Salesman, Parts Salesperson, Parts Specialist, Wholesale Parts Salesperson
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $38,630
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $33,110 – $49,850
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 270,070
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +3%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 30,000
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- No formal educational credential
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Sell spare and replacement parts and equipment in repair shop or parts store.
Main tasks
- Receive payment or obtain credit authorization.
- Assist customers, such as responding to customer complaints and updating them about back-ordered parts.
- Fill customer orders from stock, and place orders when requested items are out of stock.
- Receive and fill telephone orders for parts.
- Locate and label parts, and maintain inventory of stock.
- Prepare sales slips or sales contracts.
- Read catalogs, microfiche viewers, or computer displays to determine replacement part stock numbers and prices.
- Determine replacement parts required, according to inspections of old parts, customer requests, or customers' descriptions of malfunctions.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- No formal educational credential
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Business
- Selling Skills and Sales Operations
- Vehicle and Vehicle Parts and Accessories Marketing Operations
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.
Where many students take business
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 35% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · 28% of degrees · 155,088 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 26% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 22% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, MD · 25% of degrees · 49,664 undergraduates
- University of the PeoplePasadena, CA · 53% of degrees · 22,688 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
$53,710 median · -17% projected
- Home Appliance Repairers
$50,990 median · +1.9% projected
- Order Clerks
$46,170 median · -17.5% projected
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
$104,920 median · +1.2% projected
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
$65,380 median · -5.6% projected
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians
$57,550 median · +4.9% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk