Industry: The manufacturing sector consists of people with varied job titles employed in different industries. According to the salary survey, the petroleum and coal industry accounts for the highest average annual salary of $159,667. This may be due to the high risk involved in this sector. Second highest is the medical devices/lab equipment sector, accounting for a $132,189 average salary. Looking at the other end, the textiles and computer equipment sectors have the lowest salaries; average salaries were noted as $86,790 and $92,071, respectively. Considering the amount of imports and outsourcing in these sectors, the figures are not surprising.
Location: The geographical location of a manufacturing manager has an affect on his or her paycheck. The Middle Atlantic region consisting of states such as New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey accounts for the highest average salary of $124,650. Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, comprising the South Atlantic region, have the lowest average salary of $96,842. However, a number of manufacturing jobs are moving towards the South Atlantic region.
Education: Manufacturing managers who have at least bachelor's degrees earn average salaries of $100,616, while those with graduate degrees receive average of salaries of $122,983. The survey states that manufacturing managers are very well educated; 79% hold at least four-year bachelor's degrees, while 33% have graduate degrees.
Age and Experience: Older manufacturing managers tend to draw fat paychecks compared to their novice counterparts. With age comes experience, which is very important in a manufacturing job. A large percentage of respondents in the survey are part of their company's corporate or executive management. Thirty-nine percent of all respondents have been in the manufacturing sector for at least 26 years.
Gender: Surprisingly, the manufacturing sector is one field where salary disparities between men and women are very evident. While men earn an average of $111,286, women earn around $72,116—a difference of almost $40,000. However, this may not be as discriminating as it seems because the manufacturing industry recruits more men (88%) than women (12%).
Concern About Instability of All Manufacturing Jobs
A number of survey respondents were concerned about the fate of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. The declining number of manufacturing jobs in several states seems to have prompted many people to share their concerns. One of the respondents blamed government policies, corporate greed, and the general "don't care attitude" of American citizens—towards something that actually builds wealth in the nation—for the decline. Some respondents provided solutions such as asking companies to enhance their manufacturing processes instead of blaming foreign competition or the market in general.
Evaluating principal figures in the survey, we can say that the "average manufacturing manager" is a male between 50 and 59 years of age. He has been in the manufacturing industry for at least 26 years and has worked for his current employer for six to 10 years. He resides in the Midwest, is a college graduate, works in the area of industrial products or machinery, and receives an annual salary of $106,588.
