Production & Manufacturing careers

Typical entry-level education

How many of these occupations BLS classifies at each typical entry-level education. Many roles also have experience or licensure requirements beyond a degree.

• High school diploma or equivalent: 88
• No formal educational credential: 14
• Postsecondary nondegree award: 3

Occupations in this field

• Nuclear power reactor operators$122,610
• Power distributors and dispatchers$107,240
• Power plant operators$99,670
• Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers$97,540
• Gas plant operators$83,400
• Stationary engineers and boiler operators$75,190
• Chemical plant and system operators$73,540
• First-line supervisors of production and operating workers$71,190
• Fabric and apparel patternmakers$67,670
• Computer numerically controlled tool programmers$65,670
• Tool and die makers$63,180
• Model makers, metal and plastic$62,700
• Layout workers, metal and plastic$61,870
• Plant and system operators, all other$61,710
• Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers$61,680
• Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators$58,260
• Chemical equipment operators and tenders$57,090
• Machinists$56,150
• Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders$55,770
• Tire builders$55,580
• Patternmakers, metal and plastic$54,540
• Engine and other machine assemblers$52,540
• Patternmakers, wood$52,520
• Model makers, wood$51,850
• Semiconductor processing technicians$51,180
• Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers$51,000
• Computer numerically controlled tool operators$49,970
• Structural metal fabricators and fitters$49,900
• Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders$49,500
• Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders$49,390
• Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$49,240
• Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers$49,140
• Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners$48,970
• Pourers and casters, metal$48,940
• Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$48,630
• Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$48,620
• Dental laboratory technicians$48,310
• Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$48,310
• Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders$47,680
• Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders$47,590
• Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers$47,460
• Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$47,450
• Prepress technicians and workers$47,300
• Coil winders, tapers, and finishers$47,260
• Medical appliance technicians$47,060
• Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders$47,060
• Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders$47,010
• Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$46,980
• Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders$46,890
• Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$46,630
• Upholsterers$46,190
• Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$46,060
• Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters$46,020
• Fiberglass laminators and fabricators$45,760
• Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders$45,700
• Foundry mold and coremakers$45,700
• Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic$45,690
• Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$45,590
• Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders$45,210
• Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$45,190
• Printing press operators$45,160
• Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders$45,130
• Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers$44,980
• Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers$44,040
• Metal workers and plastic workers, all other$42,750
• Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders$42,730
• Furniture finishers$42,530
• Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators$42,210
• Grinding and polishing workers, hand$41,690
• Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$41,600
• Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders$41,460
• Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic$41,230
• Woodworkers, all other$41,220
• Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders$40,900
• Painting, coating, and decorating workers$40,860
• Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers$40,860
• Food batchmakers$40,790
• Timing device assemblers and adjusters$40,790
• Food cooking machine operators and tenders$40,550
• Etchers and engravers$40,450
• Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing$40,440
• Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders$40,160
• Photographic process workers and processing machine operators$40,100
• Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood$39,950
• Print binding and finishing workers$39,820
• Slaughterers and meat packers$39,790
• Butchers and meat cutters$38,960
• Production workers, all other$38,820
• Cutters and trimmers, hand$38,800
• Food processing workers, all other$38,420
• Ophthalmic laboratory technicians$38,420
• Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders$38,260
• Helpers--production workers$38,220
• Shoe machine operators and tenders$38,160
• Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders$37,940
• Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers$37,700
• Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders$37,660
• Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders$37,320
• Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other$37,010
• Bakers$36,650
• Sewing machine operators$36,000
• Shoe and leather workers and repairers$35,950
• Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials$33,880
• Laundry and dry-cleaning workers$33,800
• Sewers, hand$33,760

Majors that lead into this field

CampusPin majors whose program maps to occupations in this field via the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk.

• Operations Management
• Aviation Maintenance
• Welding Technology
• Machining Technology
• Automotive Collision Repair
• Dental Laboratory Technology
• Avionics Technology
• Sheet Metal Technology

Frequently asked questions

Put this field in context

The pay and growth numbers above are field-wide BLS medians and national projections across production & manufacturing occupations, not a starting salary or a guarantee for any single job. These CampusPin guides explain how to read them and how a field connects to majors and college choices.