Production Workers, All Other Salary

The median production workers, all other salary in the United States is $40,110 per year ($19.29/hour). Salaries range from $31,200 at the entry level to $61,530+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 251,700 production workers, all other jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 0.5% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$40,110
per year
Hourly Rate
$19.29
per hour
Employment
251,700
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$31,200
25th percentile
$36,030
Median
$40,110
75th percentile
$49,010
90th percentile
$61,530

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+0.5%
Slower than average

Annual Openings

31,600
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent

Training Needed

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Production Workers, All Other Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for production workers, all others.

Production Workers, All Other is the BLS catch-all for factory-floor production jobs that don't map to a specific machine-operator SOC code β€” generalist line workers who feed machines, run manual sub-assemblies, handle takeoff and pack-out, and cover multiple stations during shift rotations. Employers span heavy manufacturing (Ford, GM, Stellantis assembly plants), aerospace final-assembly (Boeing), heavy-equipment plants (Caterpillar, Deere), industrial electricals (Emerson Electric, Rockwell Automation), building products (Owens Corning), and furniture manufacturing (Steelcase, IKEA). BLS national median is $40,110 (about $19.28/hr); p10 sits at $31,200 (~$15/hr) and p90 at $61,530 (~$29.58/hr), with 251,700 workers nationally. Union scale at UAW Ford/GM/Stellantis assembly, IAM Boeing final-assembly, and UAW Caterpillar/Deere plants dominates the p90 tier β€” shift differential, overtime, and cross-training on multiple line stations are what separate a $15/hr temp from a $28/hr veteran production worker.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Multi-station cross-training
This job is defined by the ability to cover 4-8 stations on a line β€” feed, sub-assembly, in-process inspection, torque, pack-out. Ford Rouge and GM Flint assembly plants track cross-station qualifications on every worker; veterans qualified at 6+ stations earn a $0.75-1.50/hr skill premium and get priority on OT.
Line-speed pace management (takt time)
Every assembly and production line runs on takt β€” Boeing 737 final-assembly runs 47-second takt at Renton, Ford F-150 runs ~55-second takt at Dearborn, Caterpillar D6 dozer moves station-to-station on 8-12 min takt. You have to complete your task inside takt, every cycle, without triggering an andon stop. Missing takt more than 3% of cycles gets you re-trained or reassigned.
Andon / stop-the-line discipline
Pull the andon cord when you see a defect, missing part, or safety issue β€” the Toyota Production System doctrine that Ford, GM, and Stellantis all use. Employers screen for workers who use andon appropriately (real defects, not for personal breaks) and who don't hide problems to avoid supervisor attention.
Torque, fit, and finish quality gates
Torque wrench operation to spec (typically 8-45 NΒ·m on trim, 60-200 NΒ·m on chassis), verifying fit gaps within tolerance (0.5-2.0 mm), and finish inspection under proper lighting. At Boeing final-assembly one out-of-spec torque on a critical fastener triggers a Notice of Escape and re-inspection worth $12k-90k in labor.
5S / lean housekeeping
Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain β€” the 5S standard that runs at every UAW, IAM, and IUE-CWA plant. Your station is inspected daily by the shift lead; a failed 5S audit trickles into your annual coaching review.
Basic mechanical aptitude & tool literacy
Impact drivers, torque wrenches, rivet guns, staple guns, glue guns, pneumatic tools. Being able to swap a bit, clear a jammed rivet gun, or diagnose a pneumatic pressure drop keeps the line moving without a maintenance call β€” a $1-3/hr differential in most plants.
Safety compliance (LOTO, PPE, ergonomics)
Lock-out/tag-out before any guard removal, PPE compliance (safety glasses, steel toes, hearing protection, cut-resistant gloves), and ergonomic technique on repetitive lifts. OSHA-recordable injuries drive supervisor bonuses; a single hand-tool laceration triggers a plant-wide safety stand-down at Ford or GM.

How to Become a Production Workers, All Other

  1. 1
    High school diploma or GED
    Required at Ford, GM, Stellantis, Boeing, and Caterpillar. Most large employers also require a Wonderlic-style math/reading assessment and a mechanical aptitude test (Ramsay or Bennett) that takes 45-90 minutes.
  2. 2
    Apply directly to a large employer or through a staffing partner
    UAW-covered Ford/GM/Stellantis plants hire through a lottery-style application window; Boeing and Caterpillar post rolling openings on their careers site. Staffing firms (Kelly Services, Aerotek, ManpowerGroup) place temp-to-perm production workers at $15-19/hr starting, with conversion to direct employee at 90-180 days.
  3. 3
    Complete pre-employment drug screen and physical
    Every major manufacturer requires a 5-panel drug screen and a physical demonstrating you can lift 40-50 lbs repeatedly and stand for 8-12 hours. Skeletal, cardiovascular, and hearing baseline exams are standard at Boeing and Caterpillar.
  4. 4
    Complete plant onboarding (2-4 weeks)
    Ford's UAW-covered plants run a 2-week onboarding covering LOTO, 5S, andon, and station-specific certification. Boeing final-assembly runs a 4-week orientation with FAA Part 21 quality basics. Caterpillar runs 3 weeks of station rotations before permanent assignment.
  5. 5
    Qualify on 4-6 stations to earn cross-training premium
    Ford, GM, and Stellantis document station qualifications formally; hitting 4-6 qualified stations at 6-12 months adds $0.75-1.50/hr. Boeing final-assembly runs a similar 'lead-mechanic-in-training' path with $2-4/hr differential at full qualification.
  6. 6
    Cross-train into a specialty (welder, torque tech, quality inspector) or into machine-operator SOC
    Certified welders, painters, machine operators, and quality inspectors all pay 15-30% more than the generalist production role. Employer-paid AWS D1.1 welding cert, ASNT NDT Level II, or ASQ Certified Quality Inspector are the highest-ROI moves.

Career Progression

Production Worker / Line Associate (entry)
0-1 yrs$31k-38k ($15-18.50/hr) + shift differential
  • β€’Cover 1-2 stations at rated line speed under supervision
  • β€’Complete station-specific quality checklist every cycle
  • β€’Escalate defects via andon cord; do not hide problems
  • β€’Complete LOTO, 5S, and PPE onboarding within first 30 days
Next: Qualified production worker at 6-12 months once cross-trained on 4+ stations.
Qualified Production Worker (cross-trained)
1-4 yrs$38k-48k ($18-23/hr) + shift differential + OT
  • β€’Run 4-6 stations without direct supervision; float to cover call-outs and vacation
  • β€’Own the torque spec, fit tolerance, or quality-gate check for the station of the shift
  • β€’Train new hires on your qualified stations; sign off on their station cert
  • β€’Meet takt on 97%+ of cycles; contribute to daily huddle metrics
Next: Sr production worker / team leader at 4-8 years.
Sr Production Worker / Team Leader (utility)
4-8 yrs$48k-62k ($23-30/hr) + shift differential + OT + skill premium
  • β€’Full-line qualification β€” 8+ stations covered without a re-train
  • β€’Utility floater β€” cover any station on any shift on short notice
  • β€’Lead a 4-8 person team on a section of the line; own daily takt and quality metrics
  • β€’Feed the tier-1 board with downtime, defect, and safety data at each shift huddle
Next: Group leader / shift supervisor at 7-12 years, or move into a skilled trade (welder, machinist, maintenance apprentice).
Group Leader / Shift Supervisor
7-12 yrs$62k-88k salaried + shift bonus + OT eligibility at some plants
  • β€’Own 20-40 production workers on a shift across 2-4 line segments
  • β€’Meet takt, quality, safety, and attendance targets for the shift
  • β€’Coach discipline issues, run safety huddles, escalate mechanical faults to maintenance
  • β€’Lead corrective action after andon events, defects, and near-miss investigations
Next: Area manager or plant operations supervisor at 12-16 years.
Area Manager / Plant Operations Supervisor
12+ yrs$88k-135k salaried + 10-22% bonus + LTIP at large OEMs
  • β€’Own an entire line or line-segment β€” 60-180 hourly workers, capex planning, launch readiness
  • β€’Own P&L, safety recordable rate, first-pass yield, and takt attainment
  • β€’Report to Plant Manager; peer to Maintenance, Quality, and Materials Managers
  • β€’Lead capex-funded line upgrades, new-model launches, and lean/kaizen events

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 15 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through your first hour on a production line at start of shift.situational
Show up 10-15 min early β€” that's the culture at Ford, GM, Boeing, and Caterpillar and it lands well in interviews. Punch in, gear up (safety glasses, steel toes, gloves, hearing protection where required), and go to the pre-shift huddle where the outgoing group leader hands over open issues from the previous shift. Walk your station β€” check tool torque calibration stickers, air pressure on pneumatics, PPE inventory, 5S state of the workstation. Do a takt check with the incoming operator on the station you'll cover. If andon is showing an open issue from prior shift, don't restart until it's cleared. The first hour is where quality problems either get inherited or contained.
Q2. Describe a time you pulled an andon cord and stopped the line.behavioral
STAR. Situation: running a torque station on a Ford F-150 chassis line at Dearborn Truck Plant, ~55-second takt. Task: routine torque check on the frame-to-cab critical fastener. Action: my torque wrench flagged 2 consecutive fasteners under spec (about 8% low). I pulled andon, held the line, and called the group leader. We audited the last 20 chassis via handheld torque gauge; 3 of 20 were out of spec. Result: 3-chassis rework worth about $2,400 in labor, but no shipped defect. Group leader logged the catch on my scorecard and my qualification card. Interviewers screen hard for this β€” the workers who won't pull andon are the ones who ship the defect.
Q3. Why production floor instead of warehouse or delivery at the same pay?culture
Two reasons. First, the promotion ladder is documented β€” production worker to qualified worker to team leader to group leader to area manager is the exact path Ford, GM, Boeing, and Caterpillar publish in their internal career-pathing docs, and it lands at $95k-135k salary at the area manager tier. Warehouse and delivery don't publish that same ladder as clearly. Second, the skill compounds. Getting cross-trained on 8+ stations, adding a welding cert or ASQ CQI, and moving into skilled trades adds $4-9/hr on top of base and is portable to any manufacturer in the country.
Q4. How do you handle a group leader who wants you to skip a torque check to hold the line pace?situational
Don't skip it and don't argue on the floor. Say directly: 'I'll get the check done as fast as I can β€” I can't sign the station log without it.' If they push back, complete the check, log it, and note in the shift log that pace pressure was applied to skip a quality gate. At Ford, GM, Stellantis, and Boeing this is a corrective-action-worthy escalation because skipped torque checks are exactly the mechanism that produces recalls. Every large OEM has an anonymous quality hotline for this scenario. The 45 seconds of pace loss isn't worth a shipped defect and a personal disciplinary record.
Q5. Where do you want to be in 5 years?closer
Qualified on 8+ stations by year 2 and moving into a team leader utility floater role by year 3-4. My goal for year 5 is either group leader on a UAW-covered line at Ford/GM/Stellantis or moving into a skilled trade like AWS-certified welder or maintenance apprentice, which pushes base pay to $28-36/hr. I'd like to be at a large employer (Ford Dearborn, Boeing Renton, or Caterpillar East Peoria) because those plants have the strongest promotion track and best-documented cross-training pay differentials. To get there I'll complete every plant-offered station qualification, add AWS D1.1 welding certification through the employer-paid tuition program, and enroll in Green Belt Six Sigma.

Resume Template β€” Production Worker (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Production Worker (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈRan torque, sub-assembly, and in-process inspection stations on Ford F-150 chassis line at Dearborn Truck Plant (55-second takt, 3-shift operation).
  • β–ΈCross-qualified on 5 stations in 9 months; earned $1.25/hr skill premium and priority OT scheduling.
  • β–ΈPulled andon 4 times in FY24 β€” caught 3 out-of-spec torques and 1 missing weld, zero shipped defects.
  • β–ΈOSHA 10 certified. Forklift certified. Bilingual English/Spanish. $19.75/hr + $2.00 night shift differential + OT.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Attendance is #1 β€” 3 unexcused absences during probation ends the offer at UAW-covered Ford, GM, and Stellantis plants.
  • βœ—Refusing to pull andon or hiding defects β€” the fastest way to be re-trained or reassigned off a critical line.
  • βœ—Bypassing LOTO, guards, or E-stops to speed up throughput β€” instant termination at Boeing final-assembly and every UAW-covered plant.
  • βœ—Skipping the torque check or fit-gap verification to hold pace β€” recall-grade defect risk and personal disciplinary record.
  • βœ—Poor 5S state at your station during shift-end audit β€” feeds directly into your annual coaching review and delays cross-training qualification.
  • βœ—Cell phone on the line outside of designated break periods β€” universal write-up at Ford, GM, Stellantis, Boeing, and Caterpillar.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Union scale (UAW at Ford/GM/Stellantis/Caterpillar/Deere, IAM at Boeing, IUE-CWA at Emerson/GE) adds 15-28% to base plus a much stronger pension and medical package β€” moving from non-union to union is the single biggest lever in this trade.
  • βœ“Shift differential is standardized at most union plants but negotiable at non-union sites β€” 2nd shift adds $0.75-2/hr, 3rd shift adds $1.50-3.50/hr, weekend shifts can add $3-6/hr.
  • βœ“Cross-training station qualifications (4/6/8+ stations) command $0.75-1.75/hr in cumulative skill premiums.
  • βœ“OT eligibility is real money at union plants β€” 45-55 hour weeks are common, time-and-a-half plus double-time on Sunday and holidays adds $10-24k to annual pay.
  • βœ“Sign-on bonuses of $2,000-8,000 are increasingly common at Ford, GM, Stellantis, and Boeing plants running under target headcount β€” always ask, especially with prior manufacturing experience or a welding/mechanical cert.
  • βœ“Skilled-trade certifications (AWS D1.1 welder, ASQ CQI, forklift, Certified Production Technician) each add $1-4/hr and are portable across employers.
  • βœ“Metro premium is real: MI, OH, WA, IL, KY, and CA union assembly plants pay 12-22% above the national median for the same role.

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  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
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Production Workers, All Other Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$36K
$109Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

District of Columbia
$109K
+173%
Indiana
$48K
+20%
Maryland
$48K
+19%
New Hampshire
$48K
+19%
Colorado
$47K
+18%
Oregon
$47K
+18%
Washington
$47K
+17%
Minnesota
$47K
+17%
Vermont
$47K
+16%
Maine
$46K
+16%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
District of Columbia$109,470+172.9%
Indiana$48,260+20.3%
Maryland$47,640+18.8%
New Hampshire$47,620+18.7%
Colorado$47,200+17.7%
Oregon$47,180+17.6%
Washington$47,060+17.3%
Minnesota$47,020+17.2%
Vermont$46,570+16.1%
Maine$46,470+15.9%
1–10 of 51

Production Workers, All Other Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Lewiston, ID-WA$93,420+132.9%
Ames, IA$70,690+76.2%
Hanford-Corcoran, CA$69,970+74.4%
Peoria, IL$63,780+59.0%
Merced, CA$63,550+58.4%
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA$63,070+57.2%
Lynchburg, VA$60,080+49.8%
Elmira, NY$56,810+41.6%
Chambersburg, PA$56,170+40.0%
Longview, TX$54,800+36.6%
1–10 of 314
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A production workers, all other earning $40,110/year would need 1486 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1596 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how production workers, all other salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Production Workers, All Other salary trend (2011–2024) β†’