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The differences between production control specialists and production planners 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 control specialist and a production planner. Additionally, a production planner has an average salary of $60,390, which is higher than the $60,387 average annual salary of a production control specialist.
The top three skills for a production control specialist include production control, MRP and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a production planner are customer service, MRP, and ERP.
| Production Control Specialist | Production Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $60,387 | $60,390 |
| Hourly rate | $29.03 | $29.03 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 89,320 | 68,717 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 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.
Production planners or schedulers are employees who take charge of the timeliness and accuracy of the production process. The planners develop production schedules which detail the tasks that need to be done to meet the set completion date. They emphasize the goods and materials necessary in the production phase. It is their job to make sure that the working space is well-maintained for optimal performance. They also manage the flow of information during production.
Production control specialists and production planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Control Specialist | Production Planner | |
| Average salary | $60,387 | $60,390 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $84,000 | Between $44,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chesapeake, VA | Newark, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | SQA | Intuitive Surgical |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Energy |
There are a few differences between a production control specialist and a production planner in terms of educational background:
| Production Control Specialist | Production Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between production control specialists' and production planners' demographics:
| Production Control Specialist | Production Planner | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.1% Female, 38.9% | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% |
| 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, 9.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |