How To Become A Hardware Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hardware manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a hardware manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $67.75 an hour? That's $140,910 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 3,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHardware ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.7

Avg. Salary $140,910

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.43%

Asian 23.24%

Black or African American 8.19%

Hispanic or Latino 9.21%

Unknown 2.84%

White 56.08%

Gender

female 19.61%

male 80.39%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hardware manager

Explore hardware manager education requirements

Most common hardware manager degrees

Bachelor's

57.4 %

Associate

16.4 %

High School Diploma

11.6 %

Start to develop specific hardware manager skills

Skills	Percentages
RF	12.58%
Customer Service	12.54%
Product Knowledge	9.80%
CAD	6.19%
Design Reviews	4.79%

Complete relevant hardware manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hardware managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hardware manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hardware manager resumes.

Research hardware manager duties and responsibilities

Manage employees and run cash registers.
Manage multiple PCB builds from initial protos to A0 and to production.
Manage a team that develop the XGEM Capture/Replay feature for 10G Ethernet.
Result achieve by reusing existing power and cables while installing new EMC DMX3 units.

Prepare your hardware manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hardware manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hardware manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable hardware manager resume templates

Build a professional hardware manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hardware manager resume.