Manufacturing Supervisors
Overview
Introduction
Manufacturing supervisors, sometimes known as industrial production managers, monitor employees and their working conditions and effectiveness in production plants and factories. They ensure that work is carried out correctly and on schedule by promoting high product quality and output levels. In addition to balancing the budget and other bookkeeping duties, supervisors maintain employee work schedules, train new workers, and issue warnings to workers who violate established rules.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Salaries for manufacturing supervisors vary depending on the factory or plant in which they work, the area of production that they supervise, and their years of experience in the position. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports that the median annual salary for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers was $65,930 in May 2023. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,540,...
Work Environment
Most supervisors work on the manufacturing or factory floor and in offices. When on the factory floor, they may be on their feet most of the time, which can be tiring, and work near loud and hazardous machines. Supervisors may begin their day early so that they arrive before their workers, and they may stay later than lower-level workers. Some may work for plants that operate around the clock a...
Outlook
Corporate downsizing, the use of computers for tasks such as creating production schedules and budget plans, increasing automation in the manufacturing industry, and the increasing number of manufactured products that are being imported into the United States from foreign countries have creating a diminishing need for supervisors. However, there will be a need to replace job-changing or retirin...