- Pay raises were the rule, not the exception
- Base salaries exceed $100,000 for the first time since the 2008 survey
- Career satisfaction remains high
- Government regulation increases as a concern
Individual Results May Vary
While base salaries rose for most manufacturing managers, the pay earned by individual verticals were as diverse as the products they produce. For example, managers in medical devices and lab equipment earned the highest base salary, at $118,328. At the other end of the spectrum, managers in the wood products and furniture industry earned the least, at $81,470.
For the second consecutive year, management in paper, printing and publishing -- who earned an average salary of $99,989 -- expressed concern about the future of their industry. "Salary has stalled out due to falling demand in print on paper as we convert to a digital world. We can't catch up to the falling demand with our cost structure, which means plant closures and job losses," wrote an operations manager in the paper, printing and publishing industry with 26-plus years of experience, living in the North Central region and earning $45,000.
See Also: 2013 IW Salary Survey: Readers Comment on Pay, Talent Crisis
Manufacturing managers in the aerospace and defense vertical earned an average salary of $110,180. One survey respondent predicted a very different future for his industry.
"The aviation industry is on the verge of major changes in how customers interface with their suppliers and sub-tier suppliers. While it may not be as extreme as the automotive industry, there will be considerable lessons-learned applications developed from the automotive industry," wrote a quality manager in the aerospace and defense industry with 26-plus years of experience, living in the North Central region and earning $105,000. "With outsourcing and system integration becoming the norm, supplier control will be a hot topic in aviation for many years. People who can operate in these changing environs will be in high demand."
Base salary also varies widely by factors other than industry sector. Manufacturing management is overwhelmingly male, at 93% of all survey respondents, and their pay is equally disproportionate compared with women: Males earned an average of $105,238, compared with $80,011 for women.
The ethnic make-up of manufacturing management also is overwhelming white/Caucasian. At 93% of the management population, they earned an average base salary of $103,932. Asian/Pacific Islanders, who represent 2% of the survey population, earned the highest average at $111,365, while black/African American managers, representing 1% of the survey populace, earned the least, at $85,333. Asian/Pacific Islanders also had the highest average salary in last year's salary; black/African American managers had the second highest.
Some Things Never Change
What has never changed among IW subscribers is the satisfaction manufacturing management attaches to their career choice and, with slightly less vigor, to their current job. Indeed, 85% of IW subscribers reported they were "satisfied" to "very satisfied" with manufacturing as a career.
Interestingly, the high level of career satisfaction is not a product of a good economy or pay raises. IW subscribers have remained steadily positive about manufacturing as a career choice even during difficult economic times and static pay.
"I have been very satisfied with my career in manufacturing. Both of my sons are pursuing careers in engineering and manufacturing," says the director of purchasing, procurement and sourcing in the electronics/high-tech/telecom equipment industry. He speaks from experience, having 21 to 25 years in manufacturing and earning $98,000.
The high level of satisfaction doesn't surprise Steve Clingan, president of family-owned Clingan Steel. He has 55 years of experience in the manufacturing industry. "There are a lot of opportunities. The problem with many jobs today in the service industry is they kind of grind you down. [In manufacturing] there are so many new things happening," he says. "That's true in almost everything we do in metal, which is my business."
