What Does a Project Manager in Manufacturing Make?

Manufacturing project managers collaborate with other workers to ensure project completion.

Project managers serve an important purpose in a variety of industries. These management professionals generally take the lead in various projects in fields like construction or engineering. A project manager can be anyone serving in a managerial role in fields where large-scale projects are undertaken regularly. Some serve primarily as cost estimators, while others take a more hands-on approach to project management. Salaries for those in manufacturing project management depend upon the specific industry in which they work.

Average Salary

Project managers working as cost estimators in product manufacturing made an average salary of $62,060 per year as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Those working as industrial production managers made an average salary of $95,660, according to the bureau.

Pay Scale

The pay scale for manufacturing project managers also varies depending upon whether the project manager serves as a cost estimator or oversees the entire production process. The BLS indicates that cost estimators made salaries generally ranging from $34,100 to $95,620, with a reported median salary of $57,860. Industrial production managers made salaries ranging from $52,640 to $148,020, with a median salary of $87,160.

Industry

The salary made by manufacturing project managers depends heavily upon the industry in which the manager works. For instance, those employed in plastics project manufacturing made an average salary of $88,300 in 2010, according to the BLS. Those in the aerospace product manufacturing field earned an average salary of $104,710. Those in the painting, coating and adhesive manufacturing field earned $96,970, while those in the chemical manufacturing field made an average of $98,700.

Job Outlook

The job forecast for those in the manufacturing project management field appears negative based on projections made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau indicates that the number of jobs in the industrial production management field will shrink by 8 percent from 2008 to 2018. Decline in manufacturing management should decline due to increased automation in industrial production, according to the bureau.

References

• BLS: Project managers stay in charge and out front (PDF)
• BLS: Cost Estimators
• BLS: 13-1051 Cost Estimators
• BLS: Industrial Production Managers
• BLS: 11-3051 Industrial Production Managers