Quick answer: Production supervision programs train the shift supervisor role directly above machining, welding and assembly work. Supervisors earn a median $74,450 against $58,750 for machinists and $53,750 for welders, with a 75th percentile of $91,680 across 673,430 jobs (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The degree title to search for is operations management and supervision, and it is available from associate through master’s level.
| Metric | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $74,450 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Wage range | $47,130 (10th pct) - $108,750 (90th pct) | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Employment | 673,430 production and operating supervisors | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Projected change (2024-34) | 1.2%, about 67,700 openings per year | BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34 |
| Typical credential | Associate, bachelor’s or master’s in operations management and supervision | Program catalogs |
| Safety training | OSHA general industry is the common employer requirement | OSHA |
| License | None | - |
| SOC codes covered | 51-1011 production supervisors; 51-4041 machinists; 51-4121 welders, cutters, solderers and brazers; 11-3051 industrial production managers | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Role | Median | 75th percentile | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers | $53,750 | $63,010 | 416,210 |
| Machinists | $58,750 | $67,700 | 287,050 |
| Production supervisors | $74,450 | $91,680 | 673,430 |
| Industrial production managers | $126,060 | $161,880 | 246,250 |
All figures BLS OEWS, May 2025.
The supervisor tier is larger than either feeder trade on its own - 673,430 against 416,210 welders and 287,050 machinists - because supervision spans every kind of production work rather than one trade.
Search “operations management degree” and most of what comes back is general business administration wearing a manufacturing name. That is a real problem for anyone trying to compare programs, and it is why this page is narrow.
The degree behind this role is CIP 52.0205, Operations Management and Supervision - the single program code the federal CIP-SOC crosswalk maps to production supervision. 206 institutions awarded it at degree level in 2024 (IPEDS Completions, 2024). The neighboring codes in the same family are general management, and a program that spends its credits there will teach you strategy and marketing rather than takt time and changeover.
When you compare catalogs, look for scheduling, quality systems and lean methods in the required courses. If they are electives, it is a business degree.
Machinists, welders, assemblers and operators already leading work. The technical judgment is there; what is missing is usually the systems layer - why the schedule is built the way it is, what a quality escape costs, how to document a corrective action that holds.
Maintenance and quality technicians moving sideways into supervision. Both roles already see the whole plant, which is an advantage on day one.
People supervising informally and being paid hourly for it. That is the most common profile in these programs, and the credential is often what converts the role into a salaried one.
Production supervision is not licensed. What carries weight is the trade credential underneath, the lean and quality certifications employers name in postings, and OSHA general industry safety training. Confirm what a specific employer expects rather than assuming a standard, because this varies more by industry than by state.
Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
Production supervision is one job title covering several genuinely different jobs, and the coursework can only prepare you for the shared core.
Discrete manufacturing - machining, fabrication, assembly - is scheduling and changeover driven. The supervisor’s day is sequencing work through constrained machines and people.
Process manufacturing - food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals - is compliance driven. Batch records, sanitation, validation and regulatory documentation take up a share of the day that would surprise someone coming from a machine shop.
High-mix, low-volume work puts the weight on planning and setup. High-volume work puts it on uptime and takt.
None of this is a reason to choose one program over another, but it is worth knowing before you assume a supervisory job in one sector reads across to another. Ask what the plants hiring in your area actually make.
The honest version: this occupation is not growing. 1.2 percent projected change over a decade is close to flat (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). What makes the page worth reading anyway is that 673,430 jobs turning over produce about 67,700 openings a year, and the wage step from a machinist median of $58,750 to $74,450 is available without leaving the plant.
The case against is that supervision in manufacturing is a demanding job with the schedule pressure pointed directly at you, often on shift work. It suits people who already gravitate to organizing the work; it does not suit everyone who is good at the work itself.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
The national median annual wage for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers is $74,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $47,130 or less and the top 10 percent earn $108,750 or more, across employment of 673,430. Machinists have a median of $58,750 and welders $53,750, which is the step this credential is about.
Operations management and supervision is the degree title that matches this role, offered at associate, bachelor's and master's level. It is not required to lead a line - most supervisors came up through the work - but it is what most often separates a lead hand from a salaried shift supervisor.
Most of it transfers well. Scheduling, quality systems, lean methods, cost control and supervision coursework are all classroom subjects, and 197 of the 206 institutions awarding this degree report offering programs at a distance (IPEDS 2024). What does not transfer is the floor time, which programs assume you already have.
Scale and horizon. Supervisors run a shift or a line and are measured on today's output; industrial production managers run the plant and are measured on the quarter. The wage gap reflects it: a median of $74,450 against $126,060 for industrial production managers (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Barely, and honestly so. BLS projects employment to change by 1.2 percent from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). The opportunity is not growth - it is the 67,700 openings per year that come from a workforce of 673,430 turning over, and the wage step above the trades that feed it.
Lean and quality certifications appear in postings most often - Six Sigma belts and ASQ certifications among them - alongside OSHA general industry safety training. The machining, welding or maintenance credential underneath is usually what got you considered in the first place.
It is the standard one. Machinists earn a median $58,750 and welders $53,750 against $74,450 for supervisors, with a 75th percentile of $91,680 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The catch is that supervision is a different job, not a promotion within the same one, and the transition suits people who already find themselves organizing the work around them. Individual outcomes may vary.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
State pay, licensing and metro-level data for this degree. Wage and employment figures on every state page come from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Alabama * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware * District of Columbia * Florida * Georgia * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * Nevada * New Hampshire * New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * North Dakota * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Vermont * Virginia * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
