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The differences between unit supervisors and supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a unit supervisor, becoming a supervisor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a supervisor has an average salary of $53,902, which is higher than the $48,749 average annual salary of a unit supervisor.
The top three skills for a unit supervisor include patients, corrective action and social work. The most important skills for a supervisor are customer service, safety procedures, and sales floor.
| Unit Supervisor | Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $48,749 | $53,902 |
| Hourly rate | $23.44 | $25.91 |
| Growth rate | 6% | - |
| Number of jobs | 37,120 | 224,920 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A unit supervisor oversees and supervises employees, ensuring that work operations adhere to standards, guidelines, timelines, and budget. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their industry or company of employment, they are typically in charge of conducting regular inspections and assessments, setting objectives and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among staff, and producing progress reports, submitting them to higher-ranking managers. Moreover, aside from leading teams to reach goals, a unit supervisor also trains new members of the workforce, provides technical support to staff, and resolves issues and concerns to maintain smooth operations.
Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the daily functions of employees in a specific team, department, or even a work shift. They create work schedules, organize work processes and workflows, train new hires, provide necessary reports related to the team function and the employees, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and ensure that goals of the specific team or department are met. When needed, supervisors also provide guidance to employees in terms of their career or even personal challenges. They also help in fostering harmonious work relationships by resolving interpersonal conflicts at work. To be successful in their role, they must have leadership skills, time management skills, decision-making capabilities, analytical skills, and problem-solving skills.
Unit supervisors and supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Unit Supervisor | Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $48,749 | $53,902 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $78,000 | Between $31,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Berkshire Hathaway | Reed Smith |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a unit supervisor and a supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Unit Supervisor | Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between unit supervisors' and supervisors' demographics:
| Unit Supervisor | Supervisor | |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4% | Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |