Industrial Production Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate the work activities and resources necessary for manufacturing products in accordance with cost, quality, and quantity specifications.
- Median pay
- $126,060
- Doing it now
- 252,100
- By 2035
- Up 2.6%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
17,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Direct or coordinate production, processing, distribution, or marketing activities of industrial organizations.
- Develop budgets or approve expenditures for supplies, materials, or human resources, ensuring that materials, labor, or equipment are used efficiently to meet production targets.
- 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.
- Initiate or coordinate inventory or cost control programs.
- Prepare and maintain production reports or personnel records.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Industrial EngineeringSee 141 colleges that teach it
- Business Administration, Management and OperationsSee 1,587 colleges that teach it
- Business/Commerce, GeneralSee 487 colleges that teach it
- Engineering-Related FieldsSee 89 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Leading and persuading
Organised and precise
Hands-on and practical
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $126,060 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.