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The differences between plant managers and assistant plant managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a plant manager, becoming an assistant plant manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a plant manager has an average salary of $113,843, which is higher than the $85,755 average annual salary of an assistant plant manager.
The top three skills for a plant manager include continuous improvement, customer service and safety program. The most important skills for an assistant plant manager are safety program, OSHA, and plant operations.
| Plant Manager | Assistant Plant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $113,843 | $85,755 |
| Hourly rate | $54.73 | $41.23 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 275,962 | 20,560 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
An assistant plant manager is in charge of overseeing plant operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities revolve around managing the daily plant operations, assessing the workforce performance, and performing administrative support tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, managing budgets and schedules, answering inquiries, and handling calls and correspondence. Furthermore, as an assistant plant manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Plant managers and assistant plant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Plant Manager | Assistant Plant Manager | |
| Average salary | $113,843 | $85,755 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $152,000 | Between $58,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Koch Industries | Cirrus Aircraft |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a plant manager and an assistant plant manager in terms of educational background:
| Plant Manager | Assistant Plant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between plant managers' and assistant plant managers' demographics:
| Plant Manager | Assistant Plant Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3% | Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 8% |