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Industry path · Energy & industrials

MBA careers in Manufacturing

Industrial and manufacturing employers hire MBAs into operations, supply-chain, and general-management roles across automotive, industrials, and more.

Career-path guideOccupational wage benchmarksROI calculator available
Mapped roles
4
occupations MBAs take in manufacturing
With wage data
4
published benchmarks
Median wage span
$82k–$126k
across mapped roles
Verified MBA outcomes
0
still being collected

What MBA roles in manufacturing pay

Wage ranges for the occupations MBAs commonly fill in manufacturing — the soft band is the 10th–90th percentile, the solid band the middle 50%, the marker the median. These are occupational wage benchmarks across all workers, not MBA-specific salaries, but they show how pay is structured in this industry.

Industrial Production Managers$126,060median
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers$107,230median
General and Operations Managers$105,770median
Logisticians$82,320median
10th–90th pct middle 50% median
Broad benchmarkBLS OEWS · May 2024 estimates (published April 2025) · United States

These are occupational wage benchmarks for roles MBA graduates commonly target — wage context across all workers, not verified MBA-specific outcomes.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics ↗

Industrial Production Managers

$126,060median

$78k$206k+

Core plant and production leadership.

Logisticians

$82,320median

$51k$133k+

Supply-chain and logistics planning.

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

$107,230median

$65k$195k+

Distribution-network leadership.

General and Operations Managers

$105,770median

$50k$253k+

GM and LDP track toward P&L ownership.

See the full benchmark table
Role (occupation)Median annual10th–90th pctU.S. employment
Industrial Production Managers
Core plant and production leadership.
SOC 11-3051
$126,060$78,000 $205,520246,250
Logisticians
Supply-chain and logistics planning.
SOC 13-1081
$82,320$50,890 $133,160251,040
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
Distribution-network leadership.
SOC 11-3071
$107,230$65,120 $194,900221,180
General and Operations Managers
GM and LDP track toward P&L ownership.
SOC 11-1021
$105,770$50,090 $253,3903,503,020
Broad benchmarkBLS OEWS · May 2024 estimates (published April 2025) · United States

These are occupational wage benchmarks for roles MBA graduates commonly target — wage context across all workers, not verified MBA-specific outcomes.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics ↗

What MBAs do here

Operations leadership

Owns plant or function performance.

Supply chain

Plans sourcing, production, and distribution.

General management / LDP

Rotational path toward P&L ownership.

Functions MBAs run

The teams and remits graduates commonly own in this industry.

OperationsSupply chainGeneral managementStrategy

What affects your pay on this path

Two people on the same path can earn very differently. These are the factors that move the number most — worth weighing as you plan your MBA.

  • Industry and asset intensity
  • Site vs. corporate role
  • Scope and span of control
  • Geography

Concentrations that fit this industry

Tap any to explore that career path.

Related tools

Help us add real salary ranges for MBAs in Manufacturing

SalaryMBA is built from real outcomes people share. A reliable range here needs:

  1. 1A handful of real, reviewed outcomes from people on this path
  2. 2Their school, role, industry, and city — so ranges reflect like-for-like
  3. 3Public datasets and school reports to cross-check the numbers

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