If you want to get acquainted with the universe of mass production in factories, a Production Worker position is a great place to start. Production workers assist in the manufacturing of goods, typically at an assembly line or by carrying out various tasks in a warehouse. Working this job, you will feed materials into machines, assemble parts of products by hand at a production line, and monitor the equipment to guarantee the products are up to speed with the required quality standards.
You might be responsible for preparing and loading products for shipment, and you will have to make sure the production machinery is well maintained, your working area is clean, and everything is according to safety guidelines.
You have to be mechanically inclined to make the most of this job. You should be a team player and have excellent communication skills because, at the end of the day, it is the people who run the machines.
What is a Production Worker?
What Does a Production Worker Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a production worker, we found that a lot of resumes listed 15.4% of production workers included production process, while 10.2% of resumes included safety procedures, and 10.1% of resumes included assembly line. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Production Worker
If you're interested in becoming a production worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 10.6% of production workers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.8% of production workers have master's degrees. Even though some production workers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Production Worker Job Description
Production Worker Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a production worker can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as certified nursing assistant, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title operations manager.
Average Salary for a Production Worker
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Production Worker
The role of a production worker includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general production worker responsibilities:
- Food manufacturing associates are responsible for providing supplies, placing of package components into specified tray compartments, finished package inspection, grading for quality defects, placing finished packages into a carton, taping the carton
- Follows all safety policies and procedures defined by the company safety program
- Prepare all food items according to recipe cards
There are several types of production worker, including:
Warehouse Worker
Role:
If you've ever stepped foot in a warehouse, you know how much trouble is can be around the corner. From forklifts to other fun (albeit dangerous) machinery just waiting to be ridden or played with, it's easy to get hurt. Usually, during work there's not a whole lot of time for play so, hopefully, that saves you from a hefty medical bill.
As a warehouse worker, you'll have plenty of work to keep your mind off that machinery. You'll need to receive and process any deliveries of stock or materials that come your way and you may also be in charge of filling out those delivery orders, as well as sending out some deliveries yourself.
While you'll probably only be working eight hours per shift, you may think this job is a breeze. Don't forget that standing around for that long and moving heavy items can take a toll. If you work as a warehouse worker, you'll need to make sure you're taking plenty of breaks during each shift, which I'm sure you'll happily agree to.
- Average Salary: $33,010
- Degree: High School Diploma
Assembly Line Worker
Role:
Assembly line workers fabricate components or assemble parts to create products and check the quality of produced goods in manufacturing units. They operate machines in factories and use a variety of tools to trim, weld, or screw parts together. They are responsible for keeping their workspace clean and complying with safety measures.
If you choose this line of work, you need to be skillful at using your hands and willing to endure repetitive and monotonous activities for long stretches of time. Physical and mental stamina will be necessary to maintain excellent attention to detail.
Assembly line workers carry out tasks as a team, each person responsible for a particular sequence of the work. However, they usually rotate the job, so you will get the chance to learn various parts of the assembly process, from handling raw material to construction, quality control, and preparation for shipping.
- Average Salary: $27,929
- Degree: High School Diploma
Line Up Worker
Role:
As a lineup worker, your responsibility varies as to the company, industry, or organization you work for. Your duty mostly revolves around manual labor like carrying heavy shipments in and out, operating diverse kinds of devices of different sizes. Your duties may also involve working at high platforms. Consequently, you might have to do a lot of climbing up and down. You are to monitor the inventory of items as well as maintain a very organized and neat workspace.
You do not necessarily need to have a bachelor's degree to apply for a job as a lineup worker. A high school diploma is enough since you possess the skills that this job demands. Averagely, a lineup worker earns $22,813 annually.
- Average Salary: $27,868
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Production Worker Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active production worker jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where production workers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Production Worker Jobs By State
Choose From 10+ Customizable Production Worker Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Production Worker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Production Worker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Production Worker diversity
Production Worker Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among production workers, 43.7% of them are women, while 56.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among production workers is White, which makes up 61.9% of all production workers.
- The most common foreign language among production workers is Spanish at 81.2%.
Online Courses For Production Worker That You May Like
1. The Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
Capturing the Product and Process Design...
2. SAP Quality Management - SAP QM - Training Course
Complete Guide to the SAP Quality Management course. We will discuss all aspects of Quality Management Consultancy...
3. Product Management Crash Course; IT Product Management
Product Management Essentials & Product Management Fundamentals to kick-start your career in Product Management...
Best States For a Production Worker
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a production worker. The best states for people in this position are Washington, North Dakota, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Production workers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $36,291. Whereas in North Dakota and Massachusetts, they would average $35,153 and $35,014, respectively. While production workers would only make an average of $34,965 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New Hampshire
$33,483
Avg. Salary
2. Ohio
$32,143
Avg. Salary
3. Washington
$36,291
Avg. Salary
How Do Production Workers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Production Worker Employers
Most Common Employers For Production Worker
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanderson Farms | $36,694 | $17.64 | 317 |
| 2 | General Motors | $35,173 | $16.91 | 589 |
| 3 | Amazon | $32,827 | $15.78 | 420 |
| 4 | Smithfield Foods | $32,687 | $15.71 | 370 |
| 5 | Butterball | $32,364 | $15.56 | 280 |
| 6 | Pilgrim's | $31,577 | $15.18 | 504 |
| 7 | Tyson Foods | $31,231 | $15.01 | 1,603 |
| 8 | Aerotek | $30,550 | $14.69 | 1,099 |
| 9 | Kelly Services | $30,286 | $14.56 | 397 |
| 10 | Staffmark | $30,108 | $14.47 | 390 |
Production Worker Videos
Becoming a Production Worker FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Become A Production Worker?
It takes 3 years of professional experience to become a production worker. That is the time it takes to learn specific production worker skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.
Do You Need A Degree To Work In A Factory?
No, you do not need a degree to work an entry-level job in a factory. The minimum requirement for most entry-level jobs in a factory is a high school diploma or its equivalent.
While factory work is considered one of the best career options for people with only a high school diploma, there is a growing market for employees with a college degree. This growing share of factory jobs that are now going to college graduates is occurring as manufacturers upgrade their plants with robots and complex software programs.
How Do You Become A Production Team Member?
To become a production team member requires a high school diploma and a drive to work in manufacturing.
A high school diploma or GED is usually the only educational requirement for most production worker jobs.
What Education Do You Need To Be A Production Operator?
The education a person needs to be a production operator typically depends on the industry, but a person needs at minimum a high school diploma or its equivalent.
However, many specialized production operator positions will require an associate's or bachelor's degree to be hired.
What Is A Production Worker Professional?
A production worker professional is an individual who operates machines on a production line. This professional may be involved in all stages of production or be responsible for a specific part of the production process.