Production planner vs project planner

The differences between production planners and project 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 planner and a project planner. Additionally, a project planner has an average salary of $86,926, which is higher than the $60,390 average annual salary of a production planner.

The top three skills for a production planner include customer service, MRP and ERP. The most important skills for a project planner are project management, project planning, and microsoft project.

Production planner vs project planner overview

	Production Planner	Project Planner
Yearly salary	$60,390	$86,926
Hourly rate	$29.03	$41.79
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	68,717	56,558
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does a production planner do?

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.

What does a project planner do?

A project planner is responsible for determining project management procedures according to business requirements and client specifications. Project planners schedule deliverables of outputs for every milestone to ensure that the team follows the track of guidelines, adhering to the company policies and project plans. They write status reports, conduct cost expenses analysis, and strategize techniques in maximizing the team's productivity and efficiency. A project planner also identifies opportunities to improve project workloads and adjust procedures as necessary to meet the highest goals and objectives.

Production planner vs project planner salary

Production planners and project planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Planner	Project Planner
Average salary	$60,390	$86,926
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $81,000	Between $63,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	Newark, CA	Davis, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Novo Nordisk
Best paying industry	Energy	Hospitality

Differences between production planner and project planner education

There are a few differences between a production planner and a project planner in terms of educational background:

	Production Planner	Project Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Production planner vs project planner demographics

Here are the differences between production planners' and project planners' demographics:

	Production Planner	Project Planner
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
Race ratio	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%	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%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between production planner and project planner duties and responsibilities

Production planner example responsibilities.

Manage large supply base consolidations for both production parts and MRO items.
Manage customer accounts from small first time customers to large OEM's.
Manage and update inventory plan base on ABC and MTO statistic data.
Provide leadership and manage production JCL analyst team supporting and recovering of production job streams.
Track managed backlog dollars, OEM, finish product, and make to order specialty products.
Supervise NPI chip fulfillment process - manage wafer starts to meet internal qualification and board level build plan.

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Project planner example responsibilities.

Utilize SharePoint and manage content to display and capture progress report information.
Manage logistics of all facets of the transition from housing, moving, inter-service agreements and education.
Manage event day logistics, including staging, set-up and strike; adherence to event schedule, and guest hospitality.
Follow EPC projects from the engineering office to the construction site to manage the execution and performance of the construction effort.
Manage retrofit projects for progressive stamping equipment.
Experience with CMMS (maximo), including writing job plans and pm's.

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Production planner vs project planner skills

Common production planner skills

Customer Service, 11%
MRP, 9%
ERP, 5%
Logistics, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%
On-Time Delivery, 4%

Common project planner skills

Project Management, 20%
Project Planning, 8%
Microsoft Project, 4%
Project Scope, 4%
Primavera P6, 4%
Project Controls, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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