Production clerk vs production controller

The differences between production clerks and production controllers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production clerk and a production controller. Additionally, a production controller has an average salary of $53,125, which is higher than the $32,281 average annual salary of a production clerk.

The top three skills for a production clerk include basic math, data entry and safety procedures. The most important skills for a production controller are production control, production planning, and logistics.

Production clerk vs production controller overview

	Production Clerk	Production Controller
Yearly salary	$32,281	$53,125
Hourly rate	$15.52	$25.54
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	241,271	71,747
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a production clerk do?

Production clerks are involved with parts, warehousing, and inventory management operations. Those who choose this career path will be required to review and distribute production, work, and shipment schedules, as well as confer with department supervisors in order to determine the progress of work and completion dates. Production clerks also compile reports on things like work progress, inventory levels, cost, and production issues.

What does a production controller do?

A production controller is in charge of overseeing manufacturing operations, ensuring the workflow adheres to the quality standards, budgets, and deadlines. It is their duty to develop production and inventory control techniques, coordinate with managers to establish objectives and guidelines, review production plans and job orders, and supervise the supply chain operations. They also monitor every procedure, implement solutions in problem areas, and produce progress reports as needed. Furthermore, as a production controller, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with the production team while implementing the company's protocols and policies.

Production clerk vs production controller salary

Production clerks and production controllers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Clerk	Production Controller
Average salary	$32,281	$53,125
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $40,000	Between $37,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	Minneapolis, MN	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Rich Products	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between production clerk and production controller education

There are a few differences between a production clerk and a production controller in terms of educational background:

	Production Clerk	Production Controller
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Production clerk vs production controller demographics

Here are the differences between production clerks' and production controllers' demographics:

	Production Clerk	Production Controller
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2%	Male, 64.0% Female, 36.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between production clerk and production controller duties and responsibilities

Production clerk example responsibilities.

Flight line expediter ensures maintenance accomplishment and sortie production by managing, controlling and directing allocate resources and personnel.
Clean windows, glass partitions, and mirrors with water and other cleaners with sponges and squeegees.
Coordinate with multiple sewing facilities to expedite late customer orders.
Ship via fed ex and ups.
Observe and follow GMP guidelines ensuring product quality.
Perform cycle counting of WIP and complete inventories.

Production controller example responsibilities.

Manage multiple windows to access accurate inventory, P.O numbers and job numbers.
Schedule production and manage inventory of raw materials and finish products using the MRP inventory control system.
Manage production order releases base on space, capacity, man power and indenture BOM build schemes.
Provide management with visibility of material shortages, backlogs, manage WIP variances and other potential schedule conflicts.
Manage warehouse and shipping departments, responsible for outsourcing secondary machining of materials, purchasing MRO supplies and logistics.
Flight line expediter ensures maintenance accomplishment and sortie production by managing, controlling and directing allocate resources and personnel.

Production clerk vs production controller skills

Common production clerk skills

Basic Math, 16%
Data Entry, 16%
Safety Procedures, 8%
Math, 8%
Production Reports, 4%
GMP, 4%

Common production controller skills

Production Control, 28%
Production Planning, 14%
Logistics, 6%
Control Procedures, 5%
Production Schedules, 3%
MRP, 3%

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Production Clerk
Production Clerk vs Production Controller

Updated January 8, 2025

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