Production Managers, also known as Operations Managers, Plant Managers and Superintendents, are crucial to the successful operation of a facility. Production Managers are responsible for the efficient and effective running of a production facility. Often, Production Managers are also responsible for the plant’s Continuous Improvement activities and the profit and loss for the plant floor.
What Does a Production Manager Do?
Here are some facts about the typical Production Manager profession from Indeed[1]:
“A Production Manager…is responsible for all the manufacturing-related activities in a factory.” Their duties can include:
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- Overseeing manufacturing and production processes;
- Creating and executing daily, weekly, monthly, and annual production schedules;
- Procuring needed factory floor equipment and overseeing installation and maintenance;
- Maintaining a safe factory floor environment;
- Implementing company processes and procedures;
- Training/coaching factory floor supervisors and quality control staff.
According to Freshworks, Production Managers in the United States make $98,000 per year on average, with annual salaries ranging from $84,000 to $111,000. [2]
How do you become a Production Manager?
While some companies require a Bachelor’s in Business Management or a similar discipline, or even a Master’s in Business Administration for Production Manager positions, the majority of companies will also hire Production Managers with no degree and 5-10 years production floor and supervisory experience.
What are the advantages of a career as a Production Manager?
There are many benefits to a Production Manager position, including:
- The opportunity to advance to a C-suite level job (CEO, COO, CFO) due to the varied experience obtained in the Production Manager job.
- The opportunity to interact with employees at all levels of a company and often with customers.
- Exceptional pay and benefits, with opportunities to travel to represent the company for customer meetings as well as to obtain training.
- The ability to transfer to other company locations to either advance in your career or take on greater responsibilities as an existing Production Manager.
- Many people who have become Production Managers started as entry level production floor employees. For those interested in advancing in a manufacturing company, those starting at the entry level floor career can obtain the skills and experience to be promoted to a supervisory position, and, if skills are maintained and improved and exceptional job performance is exhibited, a Production Manager position may be in your future!
If you have started your manufacturing career and are considering becoming a Production Manager, contact your supervisor and ask to have them map a career pathway to this role at your company. If you are considering a career as Production Manager in manufacturing but have no experience, you can either obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Business or a similar field and work during school and summers in a production facility to obtain manufacturing experience prior to graduating, or you can enter the manufacturing field directly out of high school and work your way up to the position.
Regardless of the path you take, this position requires hard work and a willingness to constantly obtain new skills and experience. The work will be worth the wait, though, if you are able to earn this type of manufacturing job!
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[1] https://www.indeed.com/hire/job-description/production-manager
[2] https://www.freshworks.com/hrms/job-descriptions/production-production-manager/#:~:text=Requirements-,Bachelor%27s%20degree%20in%20business%20administration%20or%20related%20fields.,time%20management%2C%20and%20leadership%20skills.
