Job Responsibilities
Although there are different roles in manufacturing facilities,
the basic responsibilities include team leadership and
facilitation, project management, and personnel management.
Depending on which role you had, you might spend up to 75% of
your time managing personnel issues, or as few as 10%. Overall,
you need to be a master at learning quickly and developing
systems for managing your job.
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Job Requirements
Typical degree is some sort of engineering or operations
management degree. In my opinion, engineering is one of the
toughest undergrad degress to get.
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Uppers
Day to day responsibilities can change quickly (which is great if you thrive on
this). It can also be a fun experience to manage people and bring out their best.
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Downers
Mundane issues, lack of creativity in the workplace, etc. If
you get bored quickly or are more entrepreneurial, this is
probably not the right job for you.
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Lifestyle
Be prepared to work 50+ hours (or 60+ hours in your first few years). While
many first positions require this (particularly consulting), it is definitely not
as glamorous, as you are cooped up in the same place for your entire day vs.
going to different client sites, traveling, etc. If you work for a company with
a strong culture of work-life balance, this may not be as big an issue (however,
I think these companies are few).
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Compensation
You will always be comfortable working for a good company in
this field. I think the compensation scheme is based around the
regional economy/competition and your background. Typically,
you are paid just enough money that you may not seek out another
opportunity elsewhere.
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Advice to Jobseekers
This is a great learning ground for integrating a technical
degree and a desire to learn about leadership and management.
You get a nice mix of technology and management. If you are an
engineer and considering getting your MBA at some point, this is
probably the best avenue for you to pursue.
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