The manufacturing field is the heart of America’s economy as most firms drive the majority of our domestic corporate research and development, which results in innovations in our everyday lives. U.S manufacturing also fuels exports to other countries worldwide and plays an imperative role in our national defense. In the past decade the sector has seen major growth that is making the field an attractive place to start a career. Here are 3 reasons why you should begin a career in manufacturing.
Diverse Range of Opportunities
There are over 17 million jobs in the manufacturing field, and there are a large amount of diverse roles that are offered. Don’t picture the old image of long production lines with overalls. Technology has completely changed the sector and the industry has adapted to the growth by offering new roles. Today, it is not all shop floor jobs and engineering. If you’re inventive, there are growing jobs in prototyping, where you can develop new products for consumers and businesses. Manufacturing is also a great opportunity for office jobs as well in marketing, accounting, and finance as firms are in need of people to run the internal part of the company.
Shortage of Skilled Employees
In general, the manufacturing sector is in dire need for skilled workers. The National Association of Manufacturers recently released a skills gap report that showed that “67% of employers reported a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers and this looks set to get worse in the coming year.” In the upcoming years the ‘baby-boomers’ will begin to retire, leaving a large gap of unfilled positions looking to get filled. If you are millennial, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the abundance of job opportunities that are currently offered in the industry.
Higher than Average Income
According to an Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study the average income for an individual in the United States is $55,454 per year. In comparison, workers in the manufacturing sector earn an average of $77,000 per year. Furthermore, around 90% of workers in manufacturing receive medical benefits and get the largest job tenure in the private sector.
