Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between business unit leaders and plant managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business unit leader and a plant manager. Additionally, a plant manager has an average salary of $113,843, which is higher than the $111,361 average annual salary of a business unit leader.
The top three skills for a business unit leader include continuous improvement, quality standards and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a plant manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and safety program.
| Business Unit Leader | Plant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $111,361 | $113,843 |
| Hourly rate | $53.54 | $54.73 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 88,824 | 275,962 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A Business Unit Leader manages growth initiatives such as future acquisition opportunities, strategic partnerships, and organic innovation. These professionals control strategy deployment to ensure operational productivity and economy. They offer this service to sites focusing on Human Resources, Information Technology, Lead Operation, Lean Accounting, Lead Process, Strategic Pricing, and more. Business Unit Leaders also lead by promoting talent management, counseling, team concepts, individual development, training, coaching, mentoring, and retaining. They develop and manage the business unit department budget and strategic plan.
In general, plant managers are responsible for the entire operations in a manufacturing plant. Plant managers plan, direct, organize, and run the optimum operations of the plant daily. They create and execute organizational or departmental goals procedures, and policies. They aim to increase the manufacturing production and the capacity and flexibility of its assets while keeping its current quality standards and unnecessary costs. They are expected to have a better understanding of the manufacturing industry like equipment use and mechanical aptitude.
Business unit leaders and plant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Unit Leader | Plant Manager | |
| Average salary | $111,361 | $113,843 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $191,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Goldman Sachs | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a business unit leader and a plant manager in terms of educational background:
| Business Unit Leader | Plant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between business unit leaders' and plant managers' demographics:
| Business Unit Leader | Plant Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9% | Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |