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The differences between shop foremen and lead supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a shop foreman and a lead supervisor. Additionally, a shop foreman has an average salary of $68,171, which is higher than the $42,548 average annual salary of a lead supervisor.
The top three skills for a shop foreman include customer service, preventative maintenance and CDL. The most important skills for a lead supervisor are safety procedures, PET, and payroll.
| Shop Foreman | Lead Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $68,171 | $42,548 |
| Hourly rate | $32.77 | $20.46 |
| Growth rate | 5% | - |
| Number of jobs | 16,599 | 71,796 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A shop foreman is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of a shop, ensuring that the staff members perform their duties to address customers' needs. A shop foreman manages staffing schedules, trains new employees, and distributes tasks. They often work in manufacturing, automotive, and warehouse industries, which require knowledge of operating equipment. A shop foreman must have excellent leadership and communication skills, especially on addressing customers' inquiries and complaints and performing clerical tasks as needed.
Lead supervisors are responsible for several duties within an organization. They are accountable for overseeing their members and making sure that the work they produce is of good quality. They mainly serve as role models for their staff members, who often seek guidance, leadership, and support from them. When issues arise between employees, lead supervisors should intervene by providing conflict management to ease the situation. They also have to delegate work to employees to get the job done efficiently.
Shop foremen and lead supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Foreman | Lead Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $68,171 | $42,548 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $97,000 | Between $25,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Gillette, WY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Wyoming | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Freightliner Trucks | ABB |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a shop foreman and a lead supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Shop Foreman | Lead Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY Farmingdale | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between shop foremen' and lead supervisors' demographics:
| Shop Foreman | Lead Supervisor | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.0% Female, 3.0% | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 5.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 4.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |