Careers in the Manufacturing Industry

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“No country is ever successful
in the long term...without a
really strong and vibrant manufacturing base."

Alan Mulally, Former President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company

Top Jobs in manufacturing - Check out some of the fastest growing jobs

Mechanical engineer

  • Job outlook: 4% increase from 2019-2029  (BLS)
  • Average salary: $88,430 per year/$42.51 per hour (BLS)
  • Education requirement: Bachelor’s degree


Industrial Machinery Mechanics, Machinery Maintenance Workers, and Millwork

  • Job outlook: 33% increase from 2019-2029 (BLS)
  • Average salary: $58,790 per year/$28.14 per hour (BLS)
  • Education requirement: Associate degree

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

  • Job outlook: 3% increase from 2019-2029 (BLS)
  • Average salary: $42,490 per year/$20.43  per hour (BLS)
  • Education requirement: Highschool diploma or equivalent

Facilities Managers

  • Job outlook: 6% increase from 2019-2029 (BLS)
  • Average salary: $42,490 per year/$20.43 per hour (BLS)
  • Education requirement: Highschool diploma or equivalent



manufacturing occupations

careers within manufacturing

The manufacturing sector, while projected to experience employment declines, remains the dominant sector within the goods-producing sectors in terms of both employment and output. Real output in manufacturing is expected to see an increase of $1.2 billion, a 2.4-percent-per-year increase, between 2012 and 2022. Jobs in the manufacturing cluster involve planning, managing and performing the processing of materials into intermediate or final products and related professional and technical support activities such as production planning and control, maintenance and manufacturing/process engineering.

The manufacturing industry has a multitude of opportunities for you. Explore all  the paths you can take in this industry or explore some of the top occupations by checking out the top jobs.

Health, safety and environmental assurance

Employees in Health, Safety and Environmental Assurance ensure that the equipment is being used safely in the workplace; plan for safety in new production processes; conduct health, safety and/or environmental incident and hazard investigations; conduct preventive health, safety and/or environmental incident and hazard inspections; and implement health, safety and/or environmental programs, projects, policies or procedures. They may train workers in health, safety and/or environmental issues and provide event documentation.

logistics and inventory control

People with careers in Logistics and Inventory Control work with an inventory of raw materials and finished parts They move raw materials to the production line, unload trucks with raw materials, wrap pallets of finished products for shipment, and communicate with traffic managers.

 

maintenance, installation and repair

People with careers in Maintenance, Installation and Repair perform preventive maintenance procedures on machines tools and equipment These are performed routinely and on a regular basis. They also troubleshoot and repair electrical, electronic and mechanical systems. This will include mechanical repair as well as using computer-based inventory control systems, retrieving information histories on each machine from computer records, and recording repair activities on the system to keep accurate records of repairs performed on each machine

manufacturing production process development

Employees in Manufacturing Production Process Development are responsible for product design and design of the manufacturing process. They work with customers to ensure the manufacturing process produces a product that meets or exceeds customer expectations. They also monitor the manufacturing process and the materials used to manufacture the product.

production

People with careers in production work on the shop floor making parts or assembling them. They work with machines, making or assembling electronic parts, constructing or assembling modular housing, performing welding jobs, or printing various materials.

 

quality assurance

Quality Assurance employees assure that standards and procedures are adhered to and that delivered products or services meet performance requirements. They may have responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the quality of parts and manufacturing processes. This could include identifying the raw product to ensure it meets specifications, as well as measuring or otherwise testing products and parts to ensure they meet required customer specifications.

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