As a manufacturing associate, you will perform various job duties related to the operations of a manufacturing plant. These duties typically include preparing materials for production, monitoring inventory levels, operating manufacturing equipment, and conducting basic maintenance on tools and equipment.
Moreover, this job may entail other tasks like completing production records, reporting issues to supervisors, and inspecting newly delivered orders of parts and equipment. Manufacturing associates typically work under the close supervision of a supervisor, but with enough experience, they may work mostly independently.
A high school diploma is a typical requirement for this role. More than that, employers usually look for certification or completion of a relevant training program. However, many employers provide training on the job. Furthermore, a manufacturing associate must have a good understanding of GMP practices, OSHA regulations, and safety protocols and procedures.
On average, manufacturing associates earn $13 an hour or about $28,000 per year. In terms of work environment, they usually work in fast-paced, noisy, and relatively risky workplaces.
What is a Manufacturing Associate?
What Does a Manufacturing Associate Do
There are certain skills that many manufacturing associates 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 analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
How To Become a Manufacturing Associate
If you're interested in becoming a manufacturing associate, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 39.8% of manufacturing associates have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.5% of manufacturing associates have master's degrees. Even though some manufacturing associates have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Manufacturing Associate Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of machine operator you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title production supervisor.
Average Salary for a Manufacturing Associate
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Manufacturing Associate
The role of a manufacturing associate includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general manufacturing associate responsibilities:
- Enters set-up code, run code and related comments into work station computer. Sets up
- Under limited supervision, performs a number of complex, but repetitive mechanical
- Beginning of shift check with manufacturing coordinator regarding assignments
There are several types of manufacturing associate, including:
Assembly Line Worker
Role:
If you choose this line of work, you need to be skillful at using your hands and willing to endure repetitive and monotonous activities for long stretches of time. Physical and mental stamina will be necessary to maintain excellent attention to detail.
Assembly line workers carry out tasks as a team, each person responsible for a particular sequence of the work. However, they usually rotate the job, so you will get the chance to learn various parts of the assembly process, from handling raw material to construction, quality control, and preparation for shipping.
- Average Salary: $27,929
- Degree: High School Diploma
Line Up Worker
Role:
You do not necessarily need to have a bachelor's degree to apply for a job as a lineup worker. A high school diploma is enough since you possess the skills that this job demands. Averagely, a lineup worker earns $22,813 annually.
- Average Salary: $27,868
- Degree: High School Diploma
Production Operator
Role:
Daily, a production operator is involved in activities such as undertaking product assembly, performing product packaging, maintaining the production line machinery, and achieving production line targets. Besides that, they also need to clean the production floor and comply with health and safety guidelines.
Employers require production operators to have a minimum of a high school diploma and have the stamina to stand on their feet during work operations. This role earns, on average, $14 per hour and suits individuals passionate about understanding assembly lines.
- Average Salary: $35,185
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Manufacturing Associate Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active manufacturing associate jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where manufacturing associates earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Manufacturing Associate Jobs By State
Top Skills For a Manufacturing Associate
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, 6.6% of manufacturing associates listed basic math on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Manufacturing Associate Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Manufacturing Associate templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Manufacturing Associate resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Manufacturing Associate Demographics
Manufacturing Associate Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among manufacturing associates, 39.8% of them are women, while 60.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among manufacturing associates is White, which makes up 57.1% of all manufacturing associates.
- The most common foreign language among manufacturing associates is Spanish at 68.5%.
Online Courses For Manufacturing Associate That You May Like
1. CAM and Design Manufacturing for Mechanical Engineers with Autodesk Fusion 360
With design for manufacturing, our design process focused on the design over its cost, but always keeping in mind how parts needed to be made. With manufacturing at the core of a design, we're able to fix potential problems in the design phase rather than after production. In many cases, the end product is made up of an assembly of different pieces to simplify manufacturing or to achieve specific design goals. Each piece represents a certain tolerance and put together, things might not work or...
See More on Coursera2. Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design and Manufacturing with Fusion 360
Design for manufacturing is the process of designing parts, components, or products with the understanding surrounding design requirements for a specific manufacturing method. This course explores the design for manufacture workflow and shows how to validate models and create the G code, the programming language needed to instruct the CNC machine on how to move. We practice the basics of part and assembly design, and tools such as animation, rendering, and simulations using Autodesk Fusion 360...
See More on Coursera3. Digital Manufacturing & Design
This course will expose you to the transformation taking place, throughout the world, in the way that products are being designed and manufactured. The transformation is happening through digital manufacturing and design (DM&D) – a shift from paper-based processes to digital processes in the manufacturing industry. By the end of this course, you’ll understand what DMD is and how it is impacting careers, practices and processes in companies both large and small. You will gain an understanding of...
See More on CourseraBest States For a Manufacturing Associate
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a manufacturing associate. The best states for people in this position are North Dakota, Alaska, Massachusetts, and Washington. Manufacturing associates make the most in North Dakota with an average salary of $47,686. Whereas in Alaska and Massachusetts, they would average $44,380 and $41,520, respectively. While manufacturing associates would only make an average of $41,195 in Washington, 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. Minnesota
$40,752
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
$47,686
Avg. Salary
3. New Hampshire
$38,590
Avg. Salary
How Do Manufacturing Associate Rate Their Jobs?
Top Manufacturing Associate Employers
Most Common Employers For Manufacturing Associate
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorola Solutions | $42,549 | $20.46 | 119 |
| 2 | Rockwell Automation | $37,656 | $18.10 | 91 |
| 3 | Cummins | $36,673 | $17.63 | 51 |
| 4 | Biogen | $36,472 | $17.53 | 175 |
| 5 | Baxter International | $36,129 | $17.37 | 123 |
| 6 | First Solar | $35,797 | $17.21 | 53 |
| 7 | Herman Miller | $35,268 | $16.96 | 125 |
| 8 | Amgen | $35,215 | $16.93 | 342 |
| 9 | Medtronic | $34,883 | $16.77 | 60 |
| 10 | Sanofi Genzyme | $34,796 | $16.73 | 49 |