Also called: VP of Operations, Operations Director
Oversees several plants or a whole company's production network.
You spend Monday at one plant reviewing a new automated line, Tuesday on video calls with plant managers in three states, and Wednesday presenting a plan to the executive team to build a new factory. You decide which products get made where.
Estimated; large companies pay much more plus bonuses.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in engineering or business plus 15+ years climbing through plant leadership; MBA common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Industrial Engineering, Business Administration (MBA), Supply Chain Management, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection; general and operations managers grow about average.
Low risk for 10 years. AI analytics inform decisions across plants; strategy, leadership and accountability stay human.
Classes: Business class, AP Statistics, Economics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-1021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.