What is a Department Supervisor?

A supervisor is an individual who oversees workplace operations. What separates a supervisor from a manager is that the supervisor does not have hiring and firing authority nor do they have budget authority. They are mainly responsible for the employees' work and actions.

Department Supervisors facilitate business operations in a particular area. Their day-to-day duties include training employees, tracking work performance, developing budget reports, and troubleshooting issues. Besides that, a department supervisor also assists managers in improving business processes and communicating corporate policies to employees.

Employers require department supervisors to have a relevant bachelor's degree in specialized industries such as engineering, but require a minimum of a high school diploma and a focus more on work experience, as in the case of retail sales. They earn, on average, $26 per hour and can lead to bigger roles, such as manager and director of operations.

What Does a Department Supervisor Do

There are certain skills that many department supervisors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, leadership skills and management skills.

Learn more about what a Department Supervisor does

How To Become a Department Supervisor

If you're interested in becoming a department supervisor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 45.1% of department supervisors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.5% of department supervisors have master's degrees. Even though most department supervisors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Department Supervisor
Top Department Supervisor Jobs Near You

Department Supervisor Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a department supervisor can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as assistant store manager, progress to a title such as store manager and then eventually end up with the title district manager.

Department Supervisor

Average Salary for a Department Supervisor

Department Supervisors in America make an average salary of $47,300 per year or $23 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $66,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $33,000 per year.
Average Department Supervisor Salary
$47,300 Yearly
$22.74 hourly
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Roles and Types of Department Supervisor

The role of a department supervisor includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general department supervisor responsibilities:

  • Performs daily walk of department promotes store sales
  • Supervise the work activities of associates within his/her area communicate store objectives to associates using the appropriate programs
  • Supervises all phases of the graphics department. Qualified candidate will ensure efficiency, cost effectiveness, accuracy

There are several types of department supervisor, including:

Supervisor

Role:

Supervisors have a super-important job (didn't see that one coming, did you?). From setting goals for employees to organizing the workflow in the office, supervisors oversee all operations.

In the same breath, supervisors are a great resource for employees to look to. Supervisors are always trying to figure out how to do things more efficiently while making sure everyone is staying on top of their goals.

Unless you're needed to stay later, typically you'll only work a 40-hour week as a supervisor. The majority of employers will only hire supervisors who have a bachelor's degree. Sometimes there are options for those with only a high school diploma, you just have to find the right employer.

  • Average Salary: $53,902
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Shift Supervisor

Role:

Show me the money! As shift supervisor, it's your duty to count the money in the cash drawer (sometimes several times a day) to make sure your team is staying on track. But that's not all.

During your day, you get to be in charge of the team. You'll be in charge of telling employees where they'll be working and making sure that everyone shows up to their shift. In other words, you are the team leader. If you jump off a bridge, so does everyone else.

Before you jump off the bridge, you should know that you'll probably only be working 30-40 hours a week. Which isn't that bad. Sure, it's not retirement, but you got to have something to pay the bills. And this sure will get the job done.

  • Average Salary: $34,141
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Department Manager

Role:

A department manager is someone who has certain responsibilities over a certain area in a store or within an organization. Take a department store in the mall for example. Each store has several departments which are split up so the store runs efficiently on all ends.

Maybe you'll be the department manager for the kids section in a store at the mall or the electronics section at a Target or Walmart. Wherever you end up, your responsibilities are very similar. You'll be in charge of the area that you're assigned. Which means you're in charge of the team who works within that area.

As department manager, you get to hire and fire individuals, as well as set goals for the team to hit. You'll even be in charge of the department's budget, although a source higher up in the company will need to approve it. And, as long as your team is meeting goals and creating success, then your role as a department manager will be simple.

  • Average Salary: $67,160
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Department Supervisor Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active department supervisor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where department supervisors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Department Supervisor Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California5,566$53,147
2Texas4,395$49,843
3Florida3,635$52,267
4New York2,711$65,925
5North Carolina2,650$44,418
6Georgia2,439$53,443
7Virginia2,400$59,339
8Pennsylvania2,369$42,632
9Illinois2,280$50,736
10Michigan2,142$55,699
11Ohio2,108$40,589
12Missouri1,984$45,750
13Massachusetts1,833$65,784
14Tennessee1,831$56,657
15New Jersey1,762$70,183
16Indiana1,661$40,244
17Wisconsin1,484$47,910
18Minnesota1,451$50,919
19Maryland1,342$48,786
20Arizona1,128$39,026
21Washington1,116$50,025
22South Carolina1,097$38,912
23Colorado1,065$45,034
24Kentucky980$37,021
25Iowa974$36,709
26Louisiana918$42,350
27Alabama872$42,289
28Oregon780$37,237
29Oklahoma725$41,152
30Utah676$44,890
31Kansas662$44,602
32Arkansas649$42,921
33Mississippi643$39,090
34Connecticut624$51,014
35New Hampshire430$54,348
36Nevada414$39,841
37Maine391$44,652
38Nebraska369$45,773
39New Mexico368$38,709
40Delaware310$53,554
41West Virginia301$35,222
42Montana263$41,786
43Idaho237$39,324
44Rhode Island211$56,545
45Hawaii174$38,669
46South Dakota157$45,827
47Vermont156$48,535
48Wyoming156$36,963
49North Dakota139$42,220
50Alaska137$37,429

Department Supervisor Education

Department Supervisor Majors

Business
34.4 %
Accounting
6.3 %
Criminal Justice
6.0 %

Department Supervisor Degrees

Bachelors

45.1 %

Associate

23.7 %

High School Diploma

19.2 %

Top Colleges for Department Supervisors

1. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Delhi, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,360

Enrollment

3,142

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

4. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

5. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

7. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

8. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

9. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,853

Enrollment

14,759

10. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

Top Skills For a Department Supervisor

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.9% of department supervisors listed store management on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and leadership skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Department Supervisor Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Department Supervisor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Department Supervisor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Department Supervisor diversity

Department Supervisor Gender Distribution

Male
Male
58%
Female
Female
42%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among department supervisors, 42.1% of them are women, while 57.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among department supervisors is White, which makes up 61.2% of all department supervisors.

  • The most common foreign language among department supervisors is Spanish at 63.6%.

Online Courses For Department Supervisor That You May Like

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Best States For a Department Supervisor

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a department supervisor. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Department supervisors make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $70,183. Whereas in New York and Massachusetts, they would average $65,925 and $65,784, respectively. While department supervisors would only make an average of $59,339 in Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Tennessee

Total Department Supervisor Jobs: 1,831
Highest 10% Earn:
$81,000
Location Quotient:
1.41

$56,657

Avg. Salary

View 1,831 Department Supervisor Jobs In TN

2. Michigan

Total Department Supervisor Jobs: 2,142
Highest 10% Earn:
$83,000
Location Quotient:
1.25

$55,699

Avg. Salary

View 2,142 Department Supervisor Jobs In MI

3. New Jersey

Total Department Supervisor Jobs: 1,762
Highest 10% Earn:
$106,000
Location Quotient:
1

$70,183

Avg. Salary

View 1,762 Department Supervisor Jobs In NJ
Full List Of Best States For Department Supervisors

How Do Department Supervisors Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Department Supervisor Employers

Most Common Employers For Department Supervisor

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Anthropologie$78,825$37.9047
2H&M International$45,999$22.11231
3Staples$40,159$19.3151
4Sam's Club$39,444$18.9688
5Target$38,882$18.6994
6Kohl's$37,753$18.151,666
7Walmart$37,096$17.83541
8Sears Holdings$36,974$17.78103
9Best Buy$36,540$17.57445
10Kmart$36,147$17.38108
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Becoming a Department Supervisor FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Become A Margin Department Supervisor?

It takes three to five years to become a margin department supervisor. Specifically, that is the typical time it takes for starting from an entry-level position in a margin department to be eligible for a supervisor position. While there are no specific educational requirements, it's recommended to have at least a two-year associate's degree.

How Much Does A Department Supervisor Make At Lowes?

A department supervisor at Lowes makes, on average, $40,098 a year ($20 an hour). This can range from as little as $19,500 a year to as high as $80,000 a year. Factors such as location and department impact how much a department supervisor makes at Lowes.

What Are The 5 Roles Of A Supervisor?

The five roles of a supervisor are educator, sponsor, coach, counselor, and director. Every supervisor role utilizes some combination of these five roles when leading a team.

A supervisor acts as an educator when their employees and team members are new, when processes or conditions change, or when discussing performance expectations.

What Is A Margin Department Supervisor?

A margin department supervisor is someone who oversees the operations of the margin department. This can mean approving or denying credit to clients and monitoring account activity. A margin department supervisor is there to ensure compliance with all relevant government regulations.

Have more questions? See all answers to common sales questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023