Bullish on Manufacturing Careers
By many reports, the popular perception of manufacturing by non-manufacturers is that of an industry that is dirty, in decline and not providing a career path worth pursuing. Given both the skilled-worker shortage at the direct-labor level and the increasing age of manufacturing managers, clearly that perception is having an impact on the U.S. manufacturing workforce.
The 2012 IndustryWeek Salary Survey presents a different message.
If the U.S. manufacturing industry is suffering from a dearth of young people who want to pursue it as a career path, the remedy may be the very people already engaged in its pursuit. As a whole, they derive much satisfaction from their profession.
"Manufacturing is a great place for bright people of all education levels to make a very good living. We just need to win the PR battle," says a vice president of operations in the automotive/transportation vehicles and equipment industry. He has 21 to 25 years of experience in manufacturing, lives in the North Central region of the United States and earns a base salary of $170,000.
"I would not be here if I did not love manufacturing," adds an operations manager in the aerospace and defense industry. He has been a manufacturing professional for more than 26 years and earns a base salary of $96,000.
These are among the 35% of survey respondents who say they are "very satisfied" with manufacturing as a career path. Add to that number the 49% of survey respondents who said they are "satisfied" with manufacturing as a career, and the reality is that most of those who "do" manufacturing seem to enjoy manufacturing.
"I love manufacturing. I think it's a great career and can be a very promising career path," says Gregg Goodner, president of Hytrol Conveyor Co., Jonesboro, Ark., a manufacturer of conveying systems, and a strong proponent of lean manufacturing. On the other hand, he says, "It is getting a little tough to attract young people." He counters that by offering such benefits as an on-site health club and a medical facility manned several days a week by a nurse practitioner.
The high level of satisfaction among manufacturing professionals doesn't surprise Mark Tomlinson. He is an engineer by training, a past manufacturing practitioner and currently the executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
"Manufacturing managers are problem-solvers. There's a high degree of satisfaction that comes from solving problems," he says.
