Career
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
Lead the workers on a production line.
$74,450
Median pay
+1.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
61,000
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Enforce safety and sanitation regulations.
- Keep records of employees' attendance and hours worked.
- Inspect materials, products, or equipment to detect defects or malfunctions.
- Read and analyze charts, work orders, production schedules, and other records and reports to determine production requirements and to evaluate current production estimates and outputs.
- Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Enforce safety and sanitation regulations.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Time Management, Speaking, Management of Personnel Resources.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $74,450 a year and 61,000 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Business AdministrationSee the degree →
- Operations Management and SupervisionCIP 52.0205
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers$79,860 · +4.1%
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$79,920 · +5.0%
- First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
- First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers$59,320 · +3.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.