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Industrial Production Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.
Other titles employers use
Area Plant Manager · Assembly Manager · General Production Manager · Manufacturing Coordinator · Manufacturing Manager · Plant Manager · Product Line Manager · Production Control Manager
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- 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.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to persuading, organizing and practical work.
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
Subjects to know
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
- Deductive Reasoning
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.2 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 3.5 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 4.8 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 2.7 | Little of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a bachelor's degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- High school or less 35%
- A certificate or some college 27%
- A four-year degree 26%
- A two-year degree 8%
- A master's degree 4%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Video creation and editing software
- Electronic mail software
- Document management software
- Graphics or photo imaging software
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Desktop publishing software
- Accounting software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 26,500
- Job openings each year
- 1,850
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 3.9%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 26,500 | 1,850 | 3.9% |
| Texas | 20,870 | 1,540 | 11.9% |
| Michigan | 14,650 | 980 | — |
| Ohio | 13,390 | 900 | — |
| Illinois | 12,030 | 840 | 4.0% |
| North Carolina | 8,760 | 620 | 6.6% |
| Indiana | 8,410 | 590 | 5.1% |
| Florida | 8,360 | 610 | 9.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 8,250 | 560 | 2.0% |
| Wisconsin | 7,680 | 550 | 7.9% |
| New Jersey | 6,280 | 440 | 4.7% |
| Tennessee | 6,100 | 450 | 12.8% |
| Minnesota | 5,960 | 420 | 5.3% |
| South Carolina | 5,670 | 410 | 10.1% |
| New York | 4,950 | 0 | −5.0% |
| Georgia | 4,790 | 350 | 10.1% |
| Kentucky | 4,650 | 330 | 6.2% |
| Missouri | 4,410 | 310 | 4.8% |
| Washington | 4,340 | 340 | 7.2% |
| Iowa | 3,770 | 270 | 7.4% |
| Arizona | 3,760 | 290 | 15.3% |
| Oregon | 3,510 | 260 | 10.0% |
| Maryland | 3,130 | 220 | 5.0% |
| Alabama | 3,090 | 220 | 8.4% |
| Connecticut | 2,960 | 210 | 5.7% |
| Utah | 2,890 | 230 | 21.4% |
| Virginia | 2,700 | 190 | 3.1% |
| Kansas | 2,510 | 180 | 5.0% |
| Arkansas | 2,320 | 170 | 5.9% |
| Louisiana | 2,140 | 150 | 8.6% |
| Massachusetts | 2,140 | 150 | 1.9% |
| Nebraska | 1,960 | 140 | 7.1% |
| Mississippi | 1,580 | 120 | 10.5% |
| Oklahoma | 1,530 | 110 | 2.7% |
| Colorado | 1,420 | 100 | 8.4% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,380 | 100 | 9.5% |
| Nevada | 1,320 | 100 | 16.8% |
| New Hampshire | 1,190 | 80 | 5.3% |
| Idaho | 1,010 | 80 | 20.2% |
| West Virginia | 890 | 60 | 8.5% |
| Maine | 720 | 50 | −2.7% |
| New Mexico | 710 | 50 | 14.5% |
| South Dakota | 690 | 50 | 9.5% |
| Rhode Island | 630 | 40 | 3.3% |
| Vermont | 490 | 30 | — |
| Delaware | 480 | 40 | 11.6% |
| Wyoming | 420 | 30 | 10.5% |
| North Dakota | 410 | 30 | 7.9% |
| Montana | 240 | 20 | 9.1% |
| Alaska | 80 | 10 | — |
| District of Columbia | 30 | 0 | — |
| Virgin Islands | 10 | 0 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 5,571
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
Western Governors University
- Degrees each year
- 2,505
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
California State University-Fullerton
- Degrees each year
- 2,134
- Admit rate
- 87%
- Annual cost after aid
- $6,000
San Diego State University
- Degrees each year
- 2,008
- Admit rate
- 34%
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
San Jose State University
- Degrees each year
- 1,704
- Admit rate
- 80%
- Annual cost after aid
- $12,000
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
- Degrees each year
- 1,564
- Admit rate
- 74%
- Annual cost after aid
- $11,000
Liberty University
- Degrees each year
- 1,530
- Admit rate
- 99%
- Annual cost after aid
- $27,000
University of Maryland Global Campus
- Degrees each year
- 1,435
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- —
Compare every college offering business administration, management and operations