Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between directors of plant operations 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 director of plant operations and a plant manager. Additionally, a director of plant operations has an average salary of $118,735, which is higher than the $113,843 average annual salary of a plant manager.
The top three skills for a director of plant operations include plant operations, life safety and healthcare. The most important skills for a plant manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and safety program.
| Director Of Plant Operations | Plant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $118,735 | $113,843 |
| Hourly rate | $57.08 | $54.73 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 93,236 | 275,962 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A director of plant operations is responsible for monitoring daily production operations and manufacturing processes. Directors of plant operations manage the department's budgeting and allocation of resources to support business functions and product distribution. They also handle the adequacy of inventories, create purchase requests, and facilitating training and programs to maximize staff's productivity and efficiency. A director of plant operations must have excellent communication and organizational skills to track the operation's progress and minimize excessive loss.
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.
Directors of plant operations and plant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Plant Operations | Plant Manager | |
| Average salary | $118,735 | $113,843 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $165,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fremont, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | BridgePoint Healthcare | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a director of plant operations and a plant manager in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Plant Operations | Plant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between directors of plant operations' and plant managers' demographics:
| Director Of Plant Operations | Plant Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.8% Female, 3.2% | Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% 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% |