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Job outlook for manufacturing consultants in the United States
Are manufacturing consultant jobs in demand?
Manufacturing consultant job and salary trends over time
Manufacturing consultant jobs over time
Manufacturing consultant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,627 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 1,606 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 1,614 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 1,547 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 1,469 | 0.00% |
Average manufacturing consultant salary over time
Manufacturing consultant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $86,698 | $41.68 | +1.1% |
| 2024 | $85,791 | $41.25 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $84,836 | $40.79 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $83,706 | $40.24 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | $82,175 | $39.51 | +1.0% |
Manufacturing consultant jobs by state
Most common states for manufacturing consultants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 201 | 23% |
| 2 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 921 | 19% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 954 | 14% |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 557 | 14% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 194 | 14% |
| 6 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 721 | 13% |
| 7 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 398 | 13% |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 131 | 12% |
| 9 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 85 | 12% |
| 10 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 446 | 11% |
| 11 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,028 | 10% |
| 12 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 175 | 10% |
| 13 | Vermont | 623,657 | 65 | 10% |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,104 | 9% |
| 15 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 571 | 9% |
| 16 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 310 | 9% |
| 17 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 54 | 9% |
| 18 | California | 39,536,653 | 3,228 | 8% |
| 19 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 941 | 8% |
| 20 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 773 | 8% |
Most common cities for manufacturing consultants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood | 1 | 3% | $108,173 |
| 2 | Hartford | 1 | 1% | $94,270 |
| 3 | Redwood City | 1 | 1% | $132,381 |
| 4 | Wilmington | 1 | 1% | $94,260 |
| 5 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $107,998 |
Manufacturing Consultant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of manufacturing consultant experts
Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus
University of Alabama at Huntsville
Northern Illinois University
Oklahoma State University
University of Pittsburgh
Clarkson University
North Carolina State University
Wichita State University
Kettering University
The Ohio State University
Emory Oxford College
Jerry Gintz CMfgE
Teaching ProfessorArizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus
Manufacturing Engineering
What general advice would you give to a Manufacturing Consultant?
Jerry Gintz CMfgE: When entering a career in manufacturing engineering, consider starting as a technician to gain experience with the company before transitioning into engineering. This will allow you to build confidence and better understand the production systems you will be responsible for as an engineer.
What Manufacturing Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ana Wooley Ph.D.: For a graduate beginning their career in Industrial Systems Engineering, my advice is to be genuinely proactive and to take initiative. This field, like any other, comes with a steep learning curve as you familiarize yourself with the company's operations, culture, and processes. Actively seek out and engage with experienced colleagues who can mentor and guide you. Don’t hesitate to volunteer for challenging tasks, as these opportunities will significantly improve your learning and skill development. Another piece of advice I would give is not to be discouraged if you find yourself not enjoying your first job. It's important to remember that you never truly know until you experience it firsthand. This initial job can be a great learning opportunity, helping you identify what aspects of the field you don't enjoy and guiding you towards roles that are a better fit for your interests and skills. Every experience, even those that are not ideal, contributes to your overall career growth and helps you identify your career path.
What general advice would you give to a Manufacturing Consultant?
Theodore Hogan PhD, CIH: Engineering Technology B.S. graduates apply both engineering knowledge and industrial management skills to practical problem solving. The day-to-day work includes collaborating with management and line workers to troubleshoot issues along with planning and implementing process improvements. More experienced Engineering Technology graduates apply these people and problem-solving skills to manage traditional engineers and general business operations.
What general advice would you give to a Manufacturing Consultant?
Guiping Hu Ph.D.: People like the diversity and flexibility of being an industrial engineer. You can work on all kinds of problems with your industrial engineering skills. However, if you are only looking for a very narrow area in a specific engineering discipline, industrial engineering may not be right for you since we focus on system efficiency improvement and welfare of the workers.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Manufacturing Consultants?
Karen Bursic Ph.D.: Right now, the Lean Six Sigma certifications as well as certifications or coursework in Supply Chain Management.
What technical skills for a Manufacturing Consultant stand out to employers?
Tracy Farrell: Technical skills that employers are seeking include "real" computer skills like Microsoft Office Suite tools, proper communication skills via email and website development and postings, developing proper document format that is appropriate to send to stakeholders (i.e., letter formatting, report writing, email formatting); strong communication skills that include speaking professionally and respectfully to stakeholders as well as writing professionally (i.e., making eye contact when speaking, proper handshake, respectful dialogue including questioning); project management - knowing how to organize work and develop a timeline that includes who will be responsible for what and follow through; data analysis - being able to not only present data in an organized and understandable manner; but, be able to interpret data correctly offering the justification behind what they are interpreting and why.
Respectfully, today's graduates do not understand that being able to text and use social media does not prepare them for "real" computer skills. Many students that I have in high school and in college do not have proper writing skills, document formatting skills, or document management skills to know how to save documents properly and where to save to.
Dr. Kanton Reynolds Ph.D.
Director, Undergraduate Programs & Associate Teaching ProfessorNorth Carolina State University
Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Manufacturing Consultant job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Kanton Reynolds Ph.D.: In addition to the transformation into remote work, I think you will see more companies hiring consultants. This unprecedented time has allowed companies to realize that they can reconceptualize the way they do business. They can be more agile while realizing operational efficiencies that correspond well with the prevailing environment. They will lean on experts to help them recognize the value proposition in transforming their business models. You will see more companies rely on consultants as they move to new paradigms and streamline their operations. They will also want to leverage this contingent group of experts to maximize these transformation opportunities before bringing in additional talent.
Dr. Atul Rai Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorWichita State University
School of Accountancy, Barton School of Business
What experience really stands out on Manufacturing Consultant resumes?
Dr. Atul Rai Ph.D.: Employers are looking for people who can integrate in multi-disciplinary environments to solve complex problems. They are looking for resumes that show quick learning. Such resumes will permanently be in great demand. Because the world is interconnected much more than it ever was, employees today will deal with customers, supply-chains, and fellow employees who are spread all over the world. It means that an experience that showcases the global perspective will be in demand over the long-term.
Srinivas R. Chakravarthy Ph.D.
Professor of Industrial Engineering and StatisticsKettering University
Departments of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering & Mathematics
What experience really stands out on Manufacturing Consultant resumes?
Srinivas R. Chakravarthy Ph.D.: Having an internship or even better co-op experience (like Kettering graduates) goes a long way. This is true for any engineering discipline but more so for Industrial Engineers. While specific engineering programs, such as Chemical, Electrical, and Mechanical are well-understood by a common person (based on the names associated with these programs), the same cannot be said about Industrial Engineering. However, if one looks at what industrial engineers do, it will be very clear that they are indeed the backbone for continuous improvement in our day-to-day activities. They work with other engineers, as well as management, and offer ways to improve the products and processes that they are associated with. At the end of the day, the graduates in IE improve the lives of people in one form or the other. A great profession to be in. Thus, having co-op experience gives them a head-start as compared to the others.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Manufacturing Consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Theodore T. Allen Ph.D.: The IIOT methods mean that people are entering factories and other production systems with much better knowledge of causes and effects and possibilities for system modeling and optimization. We, at the Ohio State University, are investing a lot of time training ourselves in PTC Thingworx, Microsoft Power BI, Siemens Mindsphere, and other enablers of IIOT. These platforms enable vastly more streamlined workflows and permit many more people to see the optimization and modeling needs more clearly.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Manufacturing Consultants to find work opportunities?
Christopher Blake Ph.D.: If you had asked me last year, I would say that several places a graduate could find ample work opportunities. Any city with a Federal Reserve Branch Bank is a safe bet for those interested in public policy. The private sector is always looking for qualified economists to help with data analysis, modeling, and strategy. While there is still decent demand for those with strong communication, modeling, and data skills, the movement to more remote work makes it more likely a graduate can find a job anywhere. This may be one of the few positives from this job market cycle, relative to last year's, as there will be many jobs that no longer ask that one moves to the job's physical location.
Digital "places" are then perhaps more critical. For academic and research jobs, always keep an eye on the Job Openings for Economists list through the American Economic Association website (https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/listings?). A handful of other sites are devoted to academic and research jobs, though these are used less frequently (EconJobMarket comes to mind: https://econjobmarket.org/). Outside of academic and research positions, the world is truly your oyster - as they say. Remaining active on job boards, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms, and even checking specific large company websites can all prove valuable sources to find work opportunities. There will always be a demand for strong candidates who can understand the plethora of data collected these days.