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The differences between shop foremen and production 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 production supervisor. Additionally, a shop foreman has an average salary of $68,171, which is higher than the $63,391 average annual salary of a production supervisor.
The top three skills for a shop foreman include customer service, preventative maintenance and CDL. The most important skills for a production supervisor are lean manufacturing, safety procedures, and production schedules.
| Shop Foreman | Production Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $68,171 | $63,391 |
| Hourly rate | $32.77 | $30.48 |
| Growth rate | 5% | - |
| Number of jobs | 16,599 | 83,529 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| 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.
Production supervisors are employees who oversee the production process, usually handling activities directly related to people management. They manage employees by ensuring that the production floor employees are doing their work well and are motivated. Production supervisors guide employees and ensure that everyone is working towards company goals. They properly communicate these goals as well as the strategies to meet the set goals. Production supervisors have a direct hand in the hiring and subsequent training of employees. They should have good communication skills, decision-making skills, and leadership skills.
Shop foremen and production supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Foreman | Production Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $68,171 | $63,391 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $97,000 | Between $43,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | Gillette, WY | Fremont, CA |
| Highest paying state | Wyoming | California |
| Best paying company | Freightliner Trucks | Intuitive Surgical |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a shop foreman and a production supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Shop Foreman | Production Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY Farmingdale | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between shop foremen' and production supervisors' demographics:
| Shop Foreman | Production Supervisor | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.0% Female, 3.0% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| 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, 11.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |