4 minute read
Change the World
Build your future in manufacturing
BY CAROLYN LEE
IF YOU’RE LOOKING to find your first job, restart your career, or do something to make a big mark on the world, manufacturing offers some of your best options. There is truly something for everybody in modern manufacturing.
You’ll find endless options and things to do as part of a modern manufacturing team. In Delaware, for example, you can join a company that makes delicious food and beverages, essential chemicals and materials, lifesaving medicines and heavy machinery, to name just a few.
So, which kinds of people are best suited to be part of a manufacturing team? Regardless of whether you like to work with your hands or stay hands-off at work, there are opportunities for you. There’s room for people at every level of educational experience, whether you’re a high school graduate or you have an advanced degree. Job openings are available at every level of career expertise, from entry-level job-seekers to people with decades of experience. And all sorts of skills can come into play, whether it’s design, marketing, driving or especially those science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills that are always in demand.
Manufacturing is perfect for dreamers—those people who want to change the world or do something fun and meaningful with their lives. Every day at work can be an adventure, especially because the modern manufacturing shop floor is one of the most high-tech places to work. Manufacturers are no strangers to state-of-the-art technologies, such as 3D printing, digital twins, drones, artificial intelligence, robots and cobots, and more.
These careers are also quite lucrative. The latest data shows that manufacturing team members in Delaware made nearly $84,000 per year. Employees from all other industries across the state earned roughly $61,000 on average.
And these jobs will likely be abundant for a long time. That’s because as manufacturers scale up, grow the economy and invest in new technologies, they’ll need many more team members to innovate and help meet demand. In fact, research by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute (MI) shows that by 2030, manufacturers will need to fill 4 million jobs. That’s 4 million incredible opportunities to create the next best thing and to build a lifelong career.
Research by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute shows that by 2030 manufacturers will need to fill four million jobs. That’s four million incredible opportunities to create the next best thing and to build a lifelong career.
Manufacturers are always excited to show people what they do—and to offer a foot in the door. Later this year, on Friday, October 6, manufacturers across the country will open their shop floors to communities for a firsthand look at a day in the life of a modern manufacturing team. We call it MFG Day, and it’s a national grassroots movement and initiative of the MI, with events throughout October.
Each year, thousands of companies and educational institutions come together for their biggest opportunity to inspire the next generation, positively shift perceptions about our industry and build the foundation for the manufacturing workforce of the future. You can visit mfgday.com to learn more. MFG Day is a great way to meet and shape the future of the workforce, so be sure to visit our website if you’re a manufacturer who would like to host an event of your own, or someone who wants to see what kind of modern manufacturing is happening near you.
Being a manufacturer means being a creator, taking ideas and turning them into useful products that make the world a better place. There will always be bright futures and endless possibility waiting for you in manufacturing.
Carolyn Lee is the president and executive director of the Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.
