Industrial Technology

• CyFair

Salary:
Median annual earnings for industrial production managers were $77,670 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $59,650 and $100,810. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $47,230, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $130,680. Median annual earnings in the manufacturing industries employing the largest numbers of industrial production managers were:

• Management of companies and enterprises $88,820
• Aerospace product and parts manufacturing $87,750
• Motor vehicle parts manufacturing $79,360
• Printing and related support activities $73,350
• Plastics product manufacturing $70,180

Job Growth:
Employment of industrial production managers is expected to decline. Applicants with experience in production occupations along with a college degree in industrial engineering, management, or a related field will enjoy the best job prospects.

Employment of industrial production managers is expected to decline moderately by 6 percent over the 2006-2016 decade, mirroring the overall decline in manufacturing employment. Some declines will result from manufacturing plants moving abroad, but domestic production in manufacturing is expected to continue to increase. However, as plants produce more goods with fewer people, there will be less need for industrial production managers.

Efforts to increase efficiency at the management level have led companies to ask production managers to assume more responsibilities, particularly as computers allow managers to more easily coordinate scheduling, planning, and communication among departments. In addition, more emphasis on quality in the production process has redistributed some of the production manager’s oversight responsibilities to supervisors and workers on the production line. However, most of the decision making work of production managers cannot be automated, which will limit the declines in employment.