Production Supervisor salary

The median pay for a production supervisor nationally is $77,500 a year — about $37.26 an hour. That is based on 14 job postings on LocalWork from the last 12 months that stated pay, so it reflects what employers are advertising rather than verified earnings. Half of the roles pay more than this and half pay less, so treat it as the middle of the market rather than a target.

Most production supervisors nationally earn between $75,000 a year and $85,000 a year — that is the 10th to the 90th percentile. The spread usually reflects experience, shift, certifications and employer size more than anything else.

Pay at the bottom of the range — roughly what someone starting out can expect — is around $75,000 a year. A quarter of production supervisors earn below $75,000 a year, so the first year or two typically sits in that band.

The top 10% of production supervisors nationally earn about $85,000 a year or more. Getting there usually means experience plus something specific — certifications, supervisory duties, specialised skills or premium shifts.

Production supervisors run a manufacturing shift — the people, the output and the safety of both. Usually promoted from the floor. Day to day, that means run the shift against production targets, assign and develop line staff, enforce safety procedures and investigate quality and downtime issues.

The usual route is: (1) work the line and learn the product, (2) move to lead operator, (3) take a supervisor role, (4) progress to production or plant manager. Employers typically look for manufacturing experience essential, some employers prefer a degree, many promote internally and shift work including nights.

Usually not. Most employers hire production supervisors without a specific licence, and train on the job.

There are currently 17 open production supervisors listed on LocalWork. Manufacturers consistently struggle to fill supervisory roles from outside, so internal promotion is the norm and the ladder is real.