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Industrial Production Managers

Industrial Production Managers: Career Profile

Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.

What Tasks Do Industrial Production Managers Take On?

The day-to-day responsibilities of industrial production managers include:

  • Set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality.
  • Direct or coordinate production, processing, distribution, or marketing activities of industrial organizations.
  • Review processing schedules or production orders to make decisions concerning inventory requirements, staffing requirements, work procedures, or duty assignments, considering budgetary limitations and time constraints.
  • Review operations and confer with technical or administrative staff to resolve production or processing problems.
  • Hire, train, evaluate, or discharge staff or resolve personnel grievances.
  • Develop or implement production tracking or quality control systems, analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, or other operational reports to detect production problems.
  • Prepare and maintain production reports or personnel records.
  • Review plans and confer with research or support staff to develop new products or processes.

Skills and Knowledge

Effective industrial production managers draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Judgment and Decision Making  4.0 / 5
0
5
Critical Thinking  4.0 / 5
0
5
Speaking  4.0 / 5
0
5
Monitoring  4.0 / 5
0
5
Coordination  4.0 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  3.9 / 5
0
5

Top Knowledge Areas

Production and Processing  4.4 / 5
0
5
Administration and Management  4.1 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  3.6 / 5
0
5
Education and Training  3.4 / 5
0
5
Mathematics  3.4 / 5
0
5
Personnel and Human Resources  3.4 / 5
0
5

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

  • Area Plant Manager
  • Assembly Manager
  • Bulk Plant Manager
  • Car Construction Superintendent
  • Concrete Mixing Plant Superintendent
  • Correctional Facility Industries Superintendent
  • Factory Manager
  • Factory Superintendent

Employment and Demand

The U.S. employs around 226,472 industrial production managers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -3.0% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Industrial Production Managers

How Much Do Industrial Production Managers Make?

Statistic Value
Annual median $126,666
Hourly median $60.90
10th percentile $70,279
25th percentile $98,472
75th percentile $154,859
90th percentile $183,053

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Industrial Production Managers

Pay by State

State Annual median salary
Wyoming $155,670
District of Columbia $152,220
New Jersey $145,080
Delaware $142,790
Washington $139,260
Massachusetts $138,600
New Hampshire $138,090
Colorado $137,490
Louisiana $133,050
Connecticut $131,840
California $129,160
Arizona $128,870
New York $128,650
Texas $127,840
Puerto Rico $126,990
South Carolina $125,490
Hawaii $125,030
Georgia $124,280
Virginia $123,060
Kansas $122,700
New Mexico $122,310
Illinois $120,320
Montana $119,990
North Carolina $119,270
Wisconsin $117,720
Arkansas $116,670
Minnesota $116,320
Rhode Island $116,260
Alabama $115,470
Maine $115,090
North Dakota $113,800
Michigan $111,130
Mississippi $109,990
Florida $109,040
Oklahoma $108,720
Utah $108,370
West Virginia $107,480
Oregon $106,390
Tennessee $106,360
Pennsylvania $106,220
Nevada $106,170
Vermont $106,150
Missouri $106,120
South Dakota $105,820
Indiana $105,320
Kentucky $105,230
Iowa $104,920
Alaska $103,850
Ohio $103,230
Nebraska $102,670
Idaho $101,830

Pay by U.S. Region

Pay for industrial production managers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
New England $132,161 5.0% 1.06
Far Western US $127,028 15.0% 0.91
Other U.S. Territories $126,990 0.5% 0.80
Southwest $126,568 12.0% 0.96
Middle Atlantic $123,256 9.8% 0.86
Rocky Mountains $118,473 2.4% 0.73
Southeast $116,091 22.8% 1.11
Great Lakes $111,130 24.5% 1.75

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Industrial Production Managers

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
Manchester-Nashua, NH NH $170,200 660
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA CA $169,930 2,250
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $163,190 3,190
Trenton-Princeton, NJ NJ $159,110 270
Longview-Kelso, WA WA $157,490 90
Napa, CA CA $154,990 240
Baton Rouge, LA LA $154,800 520
Ithaca, NY NY $154,310 30

Top Industries Employing Industrial Production Managers

Most industrial production managers work in these industries:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Manufacturing 174,750 $119,930
Wholesale Trade 15,530 $111,080
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 10,730 $142,420
Management of Companies and Enterprises 7,440 $155,630
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 3,600 $106,340
Utilities 3,470 $157,180
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 3,250 $132,380
Construction 2,540 $114,990
Industrial Production Managers sectors

Industrial Production Managers work in the following industries:

Industrial Production Managers industries

Software Industrial Production Managers Use

  • Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
  • Video creation and editing software: Adobe After Effects (hot technology)
  • Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
  • Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
  • Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
  • Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
  • Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
  • Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
  • Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
  • Project management software: Microsoft Project (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

Work Environment

The work environment for industrial production managers reflects the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Contact With Others
  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
  • Telephone Conversations

Getting Started in This Career

Entry-level industrial production managers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

Top Programs to Study For This Career

Students preparing for industrial production managers typically earn programs in:

5 programs across 2 majors

2 programs across 1 majors

Engineering

1 programs across 1 majors

1 programs across 1 majors

References

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 11-3051.00 (Industrial Production Managers).

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