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The differences between general managers 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 general manager and a plant manager. Additionally, a plant manager has an average salary of $113,843, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for a general manager include customer service, cleanliness and food safety. The most important skills for a plant manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and safety program.
| General Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $71,581 | $113,843 |
| Hourly rate | $34.41 | $54.73 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 442,690 | 275,962 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.25 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
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.
General managers and plant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Average salary | $71,581 | $113,843 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $126,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a general manager and a plant manager in terms of educational background:
| General Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between general managers' and plant managers' demographics:
| General Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% | Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% 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% |