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The differences between production control specialists and materials specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production control specialist has an average salary of $60,387, which is higher than the $44,143 average annual salary of a materials specialist.
The top three skills for a production control specialist include production control, MRP and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a materials specialist are customer service, logistics, and data entry.
| Production Control Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,387 | $44,143 |
| Hourly rate | $29.03 | $21.22 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 89,320 | 38,001 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
In manufacturing facilities, a production control specialist is in charge of overseeing and coordinating production activities to ensure everything runs efficiently and smoothly from planning to completion. Their responsibilities include understanding the projects' needs, performing research and analysis, setting goals and daily objectives, establishing timelines and guidelines, reviewing documents and plans, conducting risk assessments, and resolving scheduling conflicts should any arise. Moreover, a production control specialist must monitor the daily workflow and assist customers with their orders when necessary.
A materials specialist is responsible for researching efficient and high-quality materials for production and manufacturing processes, following the designs and specifications of the engineering team and design analysts. Materials specialists identify cost-reduction materials by coordinating with trusted suppliers and vendors and determine the suitability of these items in the supply chain. They conduct data and statistical analysis to develop strategic techniques that would minimize the company's expenditures and cost. A materials specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing expense reports and discuss findings to the senior management.
Production control specialists and materials specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Control Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Average salary | $60,387 | $44,143 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $84,000 | Between $24,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chesapeake, VA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | SQA | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production control specialist and a materials specialist in terms of educational background:
| Production Control Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | - |
Here are the differences between production control specialists' and materials specialists' demographics:
| Production Control Specialist | Materials Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.1% Female, 38.9% | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |