What You'll Do

  • 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.
  • Set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality.
  • Develop or implement production tracking or quality control systems, analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, or other operational reports to detect production problems.
  • Review plans and confer with research or support staff to develop new products or processes.

Essential Skills

Speaking 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Monitoring 4.0/5
Coordination 4.0/5
Judgment and Decision Making 4.0/5
Reading Comprehension 3.88/5
Active Listening 3.88/5
Time Management 3.88/5
Management of Personnel Resources 3.88/5
Learning Strategies 3.75/5
Systems Analysis 3.75/5
Active Learning 3.62/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.

Common styles

Leadership Orientation, Dependability, Attention to Detail, Achievement Orientation, Initiative

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Written Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Information Ordering 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.88/5
Speech Clarity 3.75/5

Technologies & Tools

ABB Optimize IT Predict & Control Adobe Acrobat Adobe After Effects Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop Apple Final Cut Pro Autodesk AutoCAD AVEVA InTouch HMI Citect IIM CitectSCADA Reports Clockware Computer aided design CAD software Computer integrated manufacturing CIM software Computer integrated manufacturing CIM time manager software Computer integrated manufacturing CIM warehouse shipping manager software Computerized maintenance management system CMMS Database software Distributed control system DCS Eko Email software

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Leadership Orientation (High importance: 4.83/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.75/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.71/5)
  • Achievement Orientation (High importance: 4.45/5)
  • Initiative (High importance: 4.33/5)

Want to see how YOUR strengths align with this career?

Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

Most employers require a bachelor's degree in a relevant field. Some positions may also require experience through internships, co-ops, or entry-level work to strengthen your candidacy.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Area Plant Manager Assembly Manager Bulk Plant Manager Car Construction Superintendent Concrete Mixing Plant Superintendent Correctional Facility Industries Superintendent Factory Manager Factory Superintendent Food Processing Plant Manager Food Production Manager Gas Operations Manager Gas Operations Superintendent General Milling Superintendent General Production Manager Industrial Production Manager Manufacturing Coordinator Manufacturing Department Manager Manufacturing Director Manufacturing Manager Manufacturing Operations Manager Manufacturing Planner Manufacturing Production Manager Manufacturing Project Manager Materials Coordinator Materials Planner Plant Chief Plant General Manager (Plant GM) Plant Manager Plant Superintendent Product Line Manager Production Control Manager Production Control Supervisor Production Foreman Production Manager Production Managing Supervisor Production Shift Manager Production Superintendent Quality Assurance Manager (QA Manager) Quality Assurance Supervisor (QA Supervisor) Quality Control Manager (QC Manager) Quality Manager Quality Supervisor Sawmill Manager Sub Plant Manager Value Stream Manager Vinous Liquor Wine Maker

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.