If you don’t want to be behind a desk all day, love working with machines with the latest technology, and want to help make products to be shipped all over the world, then this is the career for you.
Some of the items made right here are:
- Boxes for Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics line
- 18-wheel tractor trailers
- Tiny tubes used in pacemakers for the heart
- and more!
Skills for the Manufacturing Industry
- Communication
- Ability to lift 20-100 lbs
- Problem Solving
- Attention to detail
- Critical thinking
CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR REGION’S TOP EMPLOYERS IN Manufacturing!
*Some of them are even attending Career Quest Winter 2024!
Explore Different Careers in Manufacturing
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles. Includes: Automotive Drivability Technician (Auto Drivability Tech), Automotive Mechanic (Auto Mechanic), Automotive Service Technician (Auto Service Tech), Automotive Technician (Auto Tech), Diagnostic Technician (Diagnostic Tech), and Heavy Line Technician (Heavy Line Tech).
Average Income: $46,600 per year
Education: Vocational school or On-The-Job training
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans. Includes: Industrial Machinery Mechanic, Industrial Mechanic, Loom Fixer, Loom Technician, Machine Adjuster, Machine Mechanic, Maintenance Technician, Mechanic, Overhauler, and Sewing Machine Mechanic.
Average Income: $57,000 per year
Education: Vocational school or On-The-Job training
Assemble or modify electrical or electronic equipment, such as computers, test equipment telemetering systems, electric motors, and batteries. Includes: Assembler, Assembly Worker, Electrical Assembler, Electronic Assembler, Electronics Assembler, Factory Assembler, Manufacturing Assembler, Production Worker, and Transformer Assembler.
Average Income: $42,000 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment. Includes: Inspector, QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor), QA Inspector (Quality Assurance Inspector), QA Technician (Quality Assurance Technician), QC Technician (Quality Control Technician), Quality Auditor, Quality Control Inspector (QC Inspector), Quality Inspector, Quality Technician, and Test Technician.
Average Income: $46,800 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products. Includes: Assembly Line Brazer, Brazer, Fabrication Welder, Maintenance Welder, MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder), Solderer, TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder), Welder, Welder Fitter, and Wirer.
Average Income: $50,500 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures. Includes: CNC Machinist (Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist), CNC Machinist (Computer Numerically Controlled Machinist), Gear Machinist, Machine Repair Person, Machinist, and Maintenance Machinist.
Average Income: $51,200 per year
Education: Vocational School or On-The-Job Training
Set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into products. Includes: Corrugator Operator, Cup Room Technician, Folder Machine Operator, Gluer Operator, Paper Cutter Operator, Paper Machine Backtender, Paper Machine Operator, and Stitching Machine Operator.
Average Income: $56,900 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials. Includes: Bagger, Crater, Mini Shifter, Pack Out Operator, Packager, Packaging Specialist, Packer, Picker and Packer, Sacker, and Selector Packer.
Average Income: $30,700 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes: Bundler, Closing Machine Operator, Computer Numerical Control Machine Operator (CNC Machine Operator), Filler Operator, Machine Operator, Packaging Operator, Packing Attendant, and Packing Machine Operator.
Average Income: $38,400 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Includes: Helper, Material Handler, and Press Helper.
Average Income: $35,200 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent