How To Become An Operations Support Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an operations support manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

Eric Olsen,

Kerem Cakirer Ph.D.

Operations support managers are responsible for overseeing the daily technical operations of their organization while ensuring overall efficiency. They manage other individuals' work in the technical support department and provide guidance and discipline as needed. Operations support managers earn an average salary of $92,000 annually or $44 per hour.

Operations support managers are primarily tasked with providing global technical support to customers, clients, and staff. They collect and analyze metrics, provide reports regularly, and assess the support team's efficiency and proficiency. Part of their duties may also include directing the department in resolving operational issues and monitoring daily workflows and planning and creating safeguards to ensure that problems that may come won't arise.

Operations support managers typically hold a bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management, or a related field. The position requires experience and on-the-job training. Some employers may choose individuals with knowledge of a specific industry and strong interpersonal, technical, and data analysis skills.

What general advice would you give to an Operations Support Manager?

Eric Olsen

Professor, Industrial Technology and Packaging, Orfalea College of Business

Times of change are also times of great opportunities. We are going to need new technical solutions to address problems we are just learning about. You have to lean into the issues. Don't be a technologist - be a problem solver. That is why we also emphasize soft skills like lean six sigma, teamwork, and change management.

ScoreOperations Support ManagerUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $79,730

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.6

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.35%

Black or African American 6.16%

Hispanic or Latino 15.13%

Unknown 4.33%

White 67.54%

Gender

female 35.24%

male 64.76%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress Level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an operations support manager

Explore operations support manager education requirements

Most common operations support manager degrees

Bachelor's

65.0 %

Associate

16.0 %

Master's

11.9 %

Start to develop specific operations support manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	14.51%
Project Management	6.47%
Human Resources	6.39%
Professional Development	5.02%
Support Operations	4.31%

Complete relevant operations support manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New operations support 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 an operations support manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real operations support manager resumes.

Gain additional operations support manager certifications

Operations support manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific operations support manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for operations support managers include IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL) and Six Sigma Green Belt.

More About Certifications

Research operations support manager duties and responsibilities

Manage employees to ensure efficient sortation of packages through the facility, minimizing operational cost and maximizing operational quality.
Develop desktop images for PC's and laptops.
Exceed team goals and KPIs despite reduction in force, budget, and increase work load.
Develop and maintain work schedules, interview and hire personnel, and monitored/control payroll expenses.

Prepare your operations support manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your operations support 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 an operations support 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 Operations Support Manager Resume templates

Build a professional Operations Support 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 Operations Support Manager resume.

Apply for operations support manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an operations support manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do operations support managers rate their job?

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Operations Support Manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Cons

I don't like it when moral is low and nothing seems to perk employees up to become more productive at work.

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

I love being able to mold my team and the distribution center to the culture of respect and accountability! Having senior and executive leadership support is a huge positive factor in making this happen!!