What Does A Manufacturing Engineer Do (including Their Typical Day at Work)

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Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Manufacturing Engineers

Manufacturing Engineers design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. May work with commercial or industrial designers to refine product designs to increase producibility and decrease costs.

Salary
$107060
Becoming One
Hard
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality


What they do

Manufacturing Engineers design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. May work with commercial or industrial designers to refine product designs to increase producibility and decrease costs.

  • Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
  • Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
  • Identify opportunities or implement changes to improve manufacturing processes or products or to reduce costs, using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods, quality control standards, or product design, materials and parts.
  • Apply continuous improvement methods such as lean manufacturing to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.

Typical day

On a daily basis, Manufacturing Engineers communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes. They apply continuous improvement methods such as lean manufacturing to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.

A typical day for a Manufacturing Engineer will also include:

  • Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
  • Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
  • Supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.
  • Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
  • Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Manufacturing Engineers also train production personnel in new or existing methods. They may also estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Manufacturing Engineers investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks. They might also design tests of finished products or process capabilities to establish standards or validate process requirements.

In addition, they incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.

To some Manufacturing Engineers, it is also their responsibility to design the layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.

What is the job like

Job satisfaction

High

Is this job meaningful

High

70% said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they found their job meaningful.


Get It Made

There are two distinct roles of a Manufacturing Engineer and typically a Manufacturing Engineer would only focus on one of these roles. Firstly there is Manufacturing Engineering Design. This focuses on how parts and products can be better designed to suit a particular manufacturing process. Often the key requirements are reducing cost, improving quality. This … Read More


Manufacturing Engineers are the ones who operate the design software to produce product and system designs, We also evaluate the production methods used for every item and supervise every process to ensure the quality of all the final products. There are many tasks that are assigned for a Manufacturing Engineer, As for me, I am … Read More


Nielsen-Kellerman

I am from Nielsen-Kellerman, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of weather stations, ballistics and weather instruments, and sports performance products. A typical day for me involves supporting the manufacturing staff; ensuring that they have the tools, equipment, and training necessary to produce products to meet customer demand. Some of my key responsibilities include: Designing, building, … Read More


Pros

Suitable for people who like practical and hands-on work.

Suitable for people who wants job security and a good working condition.

This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.

Very high salary (top 25% highest paid careers).

Cons

Not suitable for people who like to help and teach others.

It is hard to get into this career. A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.

Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week).

How much do they make

Average salary

$107060 per year

Average hourly wage

$51 per hour

Entry-level Manufacturing Engineers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $55,360 to $75,380 per year or $27 to $36 per hour.

Salary by experience Annual Hourly
Highest (Top 10%) $166,050 $80
Senior (Top 25%) $134,480 $65
Median $103,380 $50
Junior (Bottom 25%) $75,380 $36
No experience (Bottom 10%) $55,360 $27

What is the work day like

Working hours

Less than 40 hours
0%

40 hours
31%

More than 40 hours
69%

Working schedule

77%

23%

0%

Email

How often do you use email in this job?

Once a week
0%

Every day
100%

Telephone

How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

Once a week
38%

Every day
62%

Group discussions

How often do you have group discussions in this job?

Once a week
12%

Every day
88%

Public speaking

How often does this job require you to do public speaking?

Never
12%

Once a year
42%

Once a month
27%

Once a week
15%

Every day
4%

Level of competition

How much competitive pressure is in this job?

Not competitive at all
4%

Slightly competitive
4%

Moderately competitive
77%

Highly competitive
8%

Extremely competitive
8%

What is the work environment like

Office-style environment

Indoors in an environmentally controlled condition

Never
4%

Once a year or more
4%

Once a month or more
4%

Once a week or more
27%

Every day
62%

Warehouse-style environment

Indoors in a non-controlled environmental condition such as a warehouse

Never
15%

Once a year or more
19%

Once a month or more
15%

Once a week or more
35%

Every day
15%

Outdoors

Outdoors exposed to all weather conditions

Never
42%

Once a year or more
38%

Once a month or more
8%

Once a week or more
12%

Every day
0%

Outdoors – Under Cover

Outdoors but under cover (e.g. structure with roof but no walls)

Never
42%

Once a year or more
35%

Once a month or more
15%

Once a week or more
8%

Every day
0%

How to become one

Difficulty to become one

Hard
You will need a considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience. Careers in this difficulty category usually require a Bachelor’s degree and several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. Similar careers include Database Administrators, Chemists, Art Directors, and Accountants.

Required level of education

What level of education do you need to perform the job?

Less than a High School Diploma
0%

High School Diploma or equivalent
0%

Post-Secondary Certificate
0%

Some College Courses
4%

Associate’s Degree or similar
16%

Bachelor’s Degree
76%

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
0%

Master’s Degree
0%

Post-Master’s Certificate
0%

First Professional Degree
4%

Doctoral Degree
0%

Post-Doctoral Training
0%

Relevant majors

No majors found

Relevant work experience

How much related work experience do you need to get hired for the job?

None
15%

1 month
0%

1 to 3 months
0%

3 to 6 months
4%

6 months to 1 year
15%

1 to 2 years
31%

2 to 4 years
12%

4 to 6 years
12%

6 to 8 years
4%

8 to 10 years
8%

Over 10 years
0%

On The Job Training

How much on the job training do you need to perform the job?

None or short demonstration
12%

1 month
27%

1 to 3 months
4%

3 to 6 months
12%

6 months to 1 year
12%

1 to 2 years
15%

2 to 4 years
15%

4 to 10 years
4%

Over 10 years
0%

Should you become one

Best personality type for this career

The Builder

People with this personality type likes practical and hands-on work. They prefer working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

The Builder
95%

People with The Builder personality type likes practical and hands-on work. They prefer working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


The Thinker
86%

People with The Thinker personality likes to work with ideas that require an extensive amount of thinking. They prefer work that requires them to solve problems mentally.


The Artist
29%

People with The Artist personality likes to work with designs and patterns. They prefer activities that require self-expression and prefer work that can be done without following a clear set of rules.


The Helper
14%

People with The Helper personality type likes to work with people and in teams. They prefer work that allows them to build relationships with others.


The Leader
48%

People with The Leader personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.


The Organizer
52%

People with The Organizer personality type likes to follow set procedures and routines. They prefer working with data and details more than with ideas.


You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tend to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

They also like working with ideas and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Take this quiz to see if this is the right career for you.

Work Values

Which values are the most important to a person’s satisfaction for this job?

Achievement
67%

You are someone who is results oriented. You prefer work that allows you to utilize your skills and abilities while at the same time giving you a sense of accomplishment.

Working Conditions
79%

You are someone who values job security, steady employment, and good working conditions. You also prefer work that keeps you busy all the time with something different to do every day.

Recognition
71%

You are someone who values job advancement and leadership roles. You prefer work that receives recognition for the work you do and jobs that are looked up to by others in the company and your community.

Relationships
48%

You are someone who likes to provide a service to others. You prefer a work environment where you can work with your co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support
76%

You are someone who values a company that stands behind their employees. You prefer a work environment where everyone is treated fairly and is being supported by the company.

Independence
71%

You are someone who likes to work on your own and make your own decisions. You prefer work that requires little supervision and are allowed to try out your own ideas.

FAQ


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