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Job outlook for production support specialists in the United States
Production support specialist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected production support specialist job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 83,100 new jobs for production support specialists are projected over the next decade.
Production support specialist salaries have increased 9% for production support specialists in the last 5 years.
There are over 8,261 production support specialists currently employed in the United States.
There are 161,790 active production support specialist job openings in the US.
The average production support specialist salary is $80,689.
Are production support specialist jobs in demand?
Production support specialist job and salary trends over time
Production support specialist jobs over time
Production support specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8,261 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 11,289 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 2,893 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 5,409 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 5,264 | 0.00% |
Average production support specialist salary over time
Production support specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $80,689 | $38.79 | +3.4% |
| 2025 | $78,030 | $37.51 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $76,264 | $36.67 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | $75,112 | $36.11 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $73,885 | $35.52 | +1.6% |
Production support specialist jobs by state
Most common states for production support specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 382 | 55% |
| 2 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 759 | 40% |
| 3 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 288 | 33% |
| 4 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 929 | 30% |
| 5 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 871 | 30% |
| 6 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 831 | 27% |
| 7 | Vermont | 623,657 | 169 | 27% |
| 8 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 3,329 | 26% |
| 9 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 1,573 | 26% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,472 | 26% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 197 | 26% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,600 | 25% |
| 13 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 1,098 | 25% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,800 | 24% |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 326 | 24% |
| 16 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 2,244 | 23% |
| 17 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,985 | 23% |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,590 | 23% |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,351 | 23% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 304 | 23% |
Most common cities for production support specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairfax | 1 | 4% | $92,919 |
| 2 | Herndon | 1 | 4% | $92,938 |
| 3 | Seguin | 1 | 3% | $71,927 |
| 4 | Boca Raton | 1 | 1% | $68,223 |
| 5 | Lafayette | 1 | 1% | $77,766 |
| 6 | Overland Park | 1 | 1% | $55,061 |
| 7 | Southfield | 1 | 1% | $94,457 |
| 8 | Waukesha | 1 | 1% | $67,777 |
| 9 | Chicago | 4 | 0% | $74,699 |
| 10 | Phoenix | 2 | 0% | $74,928 |
| 11 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $65,871 |
| 12 | Philadelphia | 1 | 0% | $83,840 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | 1 | 0% | $78,744 |
| 14 | San Diego | 1 | 0% | $73,244 |
Production Support Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of production support specialist experts
Texas A&M University San Antonio
Arizona State University
Grand Valley State University
Tiffin University
University of Washington
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of New Hampshire
Pennsylvania State University - Great Valley
Governors State University
New York Institute of Technology
Temple University
Slippery Rock University
Stetson University
Saint Peter's University
American University
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Computer Information SystemsTexas A&M University San Antonio
Computer Information Systems Department
What soft skills should all Production Support Specialists possess?
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.: -Ability to work as part of a team.
-Attention to detail.
-Problem-solving and analytical skills.
Robert Rucker
LecturerArizona State University
School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering
What soft skills should all Production Support Specialists possess?
Robert Rucker: Being able to learn a new technology very quickly is critical since that is what my students encounter.
What technical skills for a Production Support Specialist stand out to employers?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.
What type of skills will young Production Support Specialists need?
George Miller: Many organizations realize graduates cannot learn everything in college about their major but want the graduate to have a solid foundation on their field of study. The organization wants to mold the graduate to their company environment with how they do things related to the field of study. Most companies want college graduates to have good communication skills (both oral and written), critical thinking skills and be able to work well in teams. These skills have been a staple for graduates since I can remember. This is why a college graduate takes many general education courses related to these skills and many of their major courses emphasize these skills.
Going back to the previous answer I believe graduates in all fields of study will need a better knowledge of technology and easier adaptability to changing technology. Again, an IS degree is already preparing students for this.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Production Support Specialists?
Les Atlas: Most certainly an impact, a very strong impact. The best lesson for us is from the 1919 Spanish Flu pandemic. That strain of flu still circulates as a seasonal virus. Over 100 years laters, it is now considered a Phase 6 pandemic by the World Health Organization. While it is reduced due to current social distancing and mask wearing, the 1919 Spanish Flu virus still causes community-level outbreaks in multiple parts of the globe. Societal changes from this event of over 100 years ago are still with us.
In fact, they changed society. As is well-documented, after a high level of immunity was reached in the 1920's, the resulting labor shortage enabled workers to demand better living and working conditions, as well as better wages and public health care. As just one example of the societal changes due to the 1919 pandemic, the drop in the male labor force empowered male workers, and also changed the gender composition.
The aftermath of the 1919 pandemic was the start of women joining the labour force. In the United States, the proportion of women in the labour force rose from 18 per cent in 1900 to almost 21 per cent in 1920. In that same year, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, the Congress of the United States guaranteed all American women the right to vote.
The current COVID-19 pandemic will certainly change the way we live, be it our mobility or the kinds of career options people have. After our current year-long experience in remote learning and work, will we go back to the inefficiencies of going to our office every work day? Or will remote work be acceptable, where one's residence will not be dependent upon the locations of employment. Will we avoid future hotspots of infection, choosing to instead reside and travel in areas where infection is decreasing? Will we prefer to travel on aircraft which are certified to be virus-free and frequent restaurants which are documented to be safer? Future marketing will likely make a sharp turn in this direction.
Dr. T.S. Kalkur
Department ChairUniversity of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
What experience really stands out on Production Support Specialist resumes?
Dr. T.S. Kalkur: Internship experience and tools used in design.
Marc Lessard
ProfessorUniversity of New Hampshire
Physics and Astronomy Department and Space Science Center
What type of skills will young Production Support Specialists need?
Marc Lessard: This is a very good and important question. Graduates who can address complex problems in creative ways will be the most successful. This might sound obvious, but there seems to be a trend developing where younger engineers tend to want to follow written procedures or instructions for solving problems.
What is more valuable, of course, is being able to use a broad-based background to provide new and creative solutions, or at least to suggest new ideas and engage in discussions to further develop those ideas. The cliche of "thinking outside the box" will always be important.
What experience really stands out on Production Support Specialist resumes?
Marc Lessard: Students who have been significantly involved in research projects have a distinct advantage over those who haven't. Those who began such work (which is typically paid) as sophomores or juniors often will have played a significant role in these real-world research efforts, which can be very different than what might be tackled as part of a capstone project.
Written and oral presentation skills are also essential!
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Production Support Specialists?
Nil Ergin Ph.D.: The pandemic disrupts all systems. With disruptions, new forms of services, delivery formats, and jobs will emerge. One overall result of the epidemic is that tech companies consider allowing employees to work remotely, beyond the end of the pandemic. Emerging work from the home norm will enable companies to hire a diverse and distributed workforce and compete for technical talent nationwide. This will also create a demand for IT capabilities and create a network of shared workspaces. Graduates need to diversify their skill sets to adapt and be agile to new forms of change.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Production Support Specialists in the next 5 years?
Stephen Hyzny: As everything involves technology, more educated people will need it in the future. As our cars, houses, and lives connect, people will be required to make it all work.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Production Support Specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.: -The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
How do you envision technology impacting Production Support Specialists in the next 5 years?
Elizabeth Gordon: New technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, machine-driven learning, and other trends are transforming business. The rise of these technologies threatens some traditional accounting functions and accounting jobs. To best prepare our students for this changing business environment, accounting education has to be focused, agile, and innovative. While some jobs can be automated, critical thinking, decision making, and judgment are more difficult to replace. Focusing on accounting education, on critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving provides the agility to fold in new technologies and trends as they emerge.
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorSlippery Rock University
Department of Information Systems
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Production Support Specialists?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: It is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and transformed the lives of many people, including students all over the world. A major effect is requiring students to stay and learn from home because of the closure of educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Missing saying the traditional goodbye to friends, fraternities, and sororities, and having to watch commencement ceremonies in bedrooms online will leave an indelible mark in graduates.
This means a great U-shift in memories of college life, including physical interaction and learning environment, and systems adopting a new way of doing things. Graduates will enter the job market with uncertainties of availability of traditional jobs and how to work in a new normal. Many graduates will find themselves having to search for jobs virtually and having to start working remotely from the beginning in most cases and in most industries. What would have been a new beginning, along with the excitement of stepping through the doors of the new office and career, will not be there physically. This will have an impact on these graduates because of the transformation of society as a result of the pandemic.
How do you envision technology impacting Production Support Specialists in the next 5 years?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: The trend we have witnessed in the past two decades in terms of development in technology is unprecedented. This has a ripple effect on the field of information sciences and systems. Most traditional jobs have changed or rebranded. For example, consider how information and data processing and management (IDPM) has revolutionized into what is today information management or management information systems; business intelligence is almost transformed into business analytics, data science; high-performance computing, and grid computing is today predominantly engulfed by cloud computing services.
These are changing how data and information are managed. The decision-making process is changing in various information and knowledge-intensive and process-oriented industries such as healthcare, banking, transportation, engineering, education, security, just to name a few, despite the fact that roles and services still remain. New and emerging disciplines and services are added, driven by the advancement and greater capabilities of technology. Without a doubt, in the next few years, data and information services will be revolutionized by technology hugely. Consider the development in artificial intelligence, data science, blockchain, 5G, and broadband networks, all of which have huge potential to impact the discipline. This means that information sciences and information systems courses must adapt to take into consideration the emerging skills required by the professionals and businesses of the future. The education and training of professionals in this domain have to be continuously changing to prepare graduates adequately.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Production Support Specialists to find work opportunities?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: Sometimes new graduates from college can find it hard to get the perfect or preferred job location. This may be different for those with information sciences or information systems and related degrees. Luckily there are big companies, multinational companies as well as some-sized enterprises who need skills in that discipline. Most of these can be found in some of the big cities beyond Silicon Valley such as NY, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver, Colorado, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, Charlotte, Houston, Boston, Dallas, and Minneapolis, just to name a few.
Some of these locations are where some of the big tech companies reside, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, IBM, HP, SAP, etc. The advantage of this degree is that graduates not only can work for tech companies but any company because of the need to manage data, information, process, and technology. Companies all over have or are putting together strategies to harness the potential of big data, and graduates with information sciences, information systems, and related degrees are sought after continuously.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Production Support Specialists?
Dr. Hala ElAarag: I didn't see any negative impact of coronavirus on our graduates. Our graduates did not have any problem finding internships and jobs during the pandemic. After the pandemic, there will be even more demand and opportunities for our graduates.
How do you envision technology impacting Production Support Specialists in the next 5 years?
Edward Moskal: Technology will have a significant impact over the next five years. While technology associated with the software, databases, blockchain, cloud computing, and cybersecurity will still have an impact, we are likely to see significant changes and advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence, combinations of augmented and mixed reality, and quantum computing. Industry and business will be driving these advancements, in particular, the healthcare industry and large tech companies like Google and Facebook that have already started establishing a strong presence in these fields.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Production Support Specialists?
Kathleen Riley: The job market has been good for Computer Science graduates in the last several years, and I expect it to stay good, despite the pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic is changing the job market overall, with some industries cutting back and others increasing hiring, so there has been some redistribution of job opportunities as a result, but I fully expect the demand for our graduates to stay high. One of the changes we see in the industry right now is a growing demand for technology that enables and facilitates remote and touchless interactions; there will be significant demand for people with computer science skills to make that technology successful.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Production Support Specialists to find work opportunities?
Kathleen Riley: My computer science students from the class of 2020 had a variety of experiences when they entered the job market after graduation. Those who had already signed on at companies like Amazon or Google, whose business stayed strong during the pandemic and whose workplace models adjusted easily to remote work, had a relatively easy time starting their industry jobs. Others, especially those who had planned to work for companies whose business depended on clients or industries which suffered under the pandemic, saw delays, changes in their work plans, and even cancellations of contracts; several found themselves job hunting again over the summer, interviewing remotely and having to assess companies without setting foot outside their own home. Fortunately, there are still a lot of jobs out there for Computer Science graduates, and most of the students I know have found other placements or are well into that process.
We all know about the abundance of computer science opportunities in the Silicon Valley, the Dulles Technology corridor, and other tech hubs, but there is also an abundance of computer science opportunities in large and small cities throughout the country. In addition to businesses whose focus or products are technology-related, many other businesses have significant technology and computer science needs that are provided in-house, and those who thrive and survive will continue to hire.