Also called: Industrial Production Manager, Factory Manager, General Manager, Manufacturing
Is in charge of an entire factory: its people, safety, output, quality and budget.
Your day starts with a walk of the floor and a 15-minute meeting where each department reports yesterday's numbers: safety, quality, output, cost. Then you might interview a new supervisor, meet the union, approve a new machine purchase and take a call from headquarters about next year's targets. If a fire, flood or big customer complaint hits, it lands on your desk.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in engineering, industrial technology or business, plus 10+ years of experience; some have an MBA.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Technology, Business Administration.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). BLS projects about average growth.
Low risk for 10 years. AI dashboards and planning tools help, but leading hundreds of people, safety and big decisions stays human.
Classes: Business class, Statistics, Engineering CTE (PLTW).
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-3051.
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.