The Top Reasons to Work In Manufacturing

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• Industry News

November 5th, 2021

When starting your career or making a job change, what are the important factors you consider before accepting an offer? You probably look at the company culture to see if the mission, values, and people are a good fit for you. You think about long-term growth and advancement opportunities and want peace of mind knowing your job is stable and secure. Oh, and don’t forget about the pay and benefits! We all want to get paid fairly, have good health insurance, and paid time off, right?

If those are all boxes you want to check off, you should consider working in the manufacturing industry.

The engaging work, family-like team atmosphere, education and training opportunities, a large variety of jobs and career paths, and competitive salary are just a few of the factors that make working in manufacturing a rewarding choice.

Top Reasons to Work in Manufacturing

1. This high-demand industry means you’ll receive good pay and benefits.

   It’s no secret that the U.S. as a whole is currently experiencing a labor shortage and jobs are in demand. But even before this national trend, the manufacturing industry was seeing an employment gap, partially due to moving manufacturing back to the US from abroad (known as “reshoring”), but also due to the retirement of older workers. And new job opportunities are constantly being created, making this industry a high-demand one.

   Between the high demand, skills needed, and nature of the job, working in the manufacturing industry comes with rewards: an average salary between $37,000 and $63,000, health insurance (including dental and vision), retirement funds, paid time off, career development and educational opportunities, and more. Of course, these all vary by location and employer, but these are some of the benefits typical of the industry.

   At Buck Company, we provide our employees with a competitive salary, paid vacation, a 401(K) plan, health benefits, and much more.

2. Career opportunities are readily and steadily available.

   When you work in manufacturing, multiple career opportunities, paths, and advancements are available to you. If you’re just entering the workforce or looking to make a career change, a wide variety of entry-level positions exist, including apprenticeships, to give you on-the-job training.

   Apprenticeships and on-the-job training afford you the opportunity to avoid incurring, long-lasting student debt. That means more money in your pocket at the end of the day so you can build your savings (including that retirement plan) faster, while still obtaining the knowledge and skills you need to advance your manufacturing career. A little more money in your pocket probably also means a little more shopping too. Don’t feel guilty for spending some of that extra money. You’re contributing to our economy and its growth, and that’s a good thing!

   There’s a plethora of positions and opportunities in manufacturing that range from maintenance, production, inventory, technology, engineering, drafting, and more! The variety means you can move across departments; where you start doesn’t have to be where you stay. You might start in production but realize that you’re interested in inventory. You can take your background knowledge with you as you shift into a new role and become skilled in that area too. Having that cross-functional experience makes you a more valuable team member.

3. You have job security and stability.
   

   Remember how we shared up above that manufacturing is an in-demand job? Well, that demand also means there’s job security and stability. Also contributing to the security and stability is the nature of manufacturing. When so many industries and jobs were forced to shut down during COVID-19, manufacturing remained open, having been classified as essential. It makes sense when you think about it, people still needed parts for cars, medical equipment, technology needs increased, and food and clothing were still necessary. You can have peace of mind knowing your job isn’t going anywhere.

   Manufacturing itself is an industry, but it’s also used in many different industries, opening up a wide net of possibilities for you to match your personal interests to your job and further enhance your job stability. Like food (let’s be honest, who doesn’t like food)? You can go to work building the next innovation in food processing or preservation. Interested in cars? Good news, automotive manufacturing needs you! Prefer to work with your hands? Consider a position in production or fabrication; you’ll literally take raw materials and work them into something that didn’t exist before you created it!

4. You can be among the first to experience cutting-edge, new technologies.
   

   Manufacturing is a constantly evolving industry. New technologies are routinely introduced to make productivity, quality, and safety more effective and efficient. And you could be at the forefront of that technology. Who wouldn’t want to be among the first to play with the latest and greatest versions of 3D printing, robotics, analytics, IoT, and more? Not only is it exciting and interesting, but working with cutting-edge technology further develops your skills, knowledge, and advancement opportunities.
   

5. You get to make something real and make a difference to others.
   

   When you work in manufacturing, you get to see the fruits of your labor and its impact. You create something real that can be held, used, and enjoyed. Your work contributes to everyday life. Depending on what you do, you might be making things that are used in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or electronics, and those things help others. That’s something you can take pride in, knowing your work impacted another person’s life.

6. You’ll have a positive workplace experience.
   

   The majority of people spend more time each week at work than they do with their families, at home, or doing leisure activities/hobbies. If you’re spending all that time in one place, you want to enjoy it, right? A manufacturing career provides you with a positive workplace experience and a high level of work satisfaction.

   Upon your first day of work, you’ll realize that you aren’t just joining a team, but a family full of great people. You’ll work alongside people with similar go-getter, competitive attitudes, who want to collaborate and elevate ideas and projects, and you’ll learn from each other as you share your knowledge, ideas, passions, and talent.

   As in any job, you’ll face challenges. But as you strive to overcome each challenge, you’ll grow, you’ll learn, you’ll improve, and in the end, the challenge will bring out the best in you. The same can be said about your coworkers, and as you all work to be the best, you’ll surpass the goals and expectations set by your company, and you’ll be recognized and rewarded for it.

   Safety and security are of utmost importance in manufacturing, between the manual labor you perform and the equipment, chemicals, tools, and other people out on the floor that can be hazardous. Companies take their employees’ health and safety seriously, routinely performing checks, updating policies and procedures, undergoing training, and more. You can go into work each day knowing you’re being looked out for and safety is top of mind.

   Another positive of manufacturing work? It keeps you active and fit! No need to worry about hitting the gym after work; you’ve been working out basically all day!

Next Steps

As you can see, there are many benefits to working in manufacturing. Yes, the pay and incentives are nice, but that’s only part of it. The work environment, company culture, commitment to success and continued innovation, personal growth, career growth, and rewarding nature of the job are really what make working in manufacturing so worthwhile. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get your manufacturing career started.