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The differences between senior manufacturing managers and plant managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior manufacturing manager, becoming a plant manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior manufacturing manager has an average salary of $146,889, which is higher than the $113,843 average annual salary of a plant manager.
The top three skills for a senior manufacturing manager include continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and sigma. The most important skills for a plant manager are continuous improvement, customer service, and safety program.
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $146,889 | $113,843 |
| Hourly rate | $70.62 | $54.73 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 39,741 | 275,962 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A senior manufacturing engineer specializes in designing and developing tools and machinery to optimize manufacturing procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include understanding and identifying the company's needs, producing prototypes and test structures, studying feedback from internal and external parties, creating progress reports, and analyzing existing systems and machinery, implementing solutions against vulnerable areas. Furthermore, as a senior manufacturing engineer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff while enforcing the company's safety policies and regulations.
In general, plant managers are responsible for the entire operations in a manufacturing plant. Plant managers plan, direct, organize, and run the optimum operations of the plant daily. They create and execute organizational or departmental goals procedures, and policies. They aim to increase the manufacturing production and the capacity and flexibility of its assets while keeping its current quality standards and unnecessary costs. They are expected to have a better understanding of the manufacturing industry like equipment use and mechanical aptitude.
Senior manufacturing managers and plant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Average salary | $146,889 | $113,843 |
| Salary range | Between $100,000 And $215,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior manufacturing manager and a plant manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior manufacturing managers' and plant managers' demographics:
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Plant Manager | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |