AMAdvanced Manufacturing
AM
Career

Advanced Manufacturing

By the numbers
Typical pay
$102,440 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+11.0% by 2034
People in this job
366K
Figures shown for ·closest of 3 O*NET occupations
The work
Watch · day in the life
A day, hour by hour
06:00
Floor walk

Lap the production floor before full shift — machines running, nothing alarming.

06:30
Shift standup

Quick sync with techs: overnight defect counts, any stoppages, today's targets.

07:00
Sensor data review

Pull live IoT dashboard — one temperature spike looks odd, real fault or noise?

08:00
Quality deep-dive

Defect rate crept up overnight; dig into SPC charts to find the root cause.

09:30
Robot reprogramming

Adjust weld-arm path in code, test cycle, shave four seconds off per unit.

11:00
CAD & materials test

Model a lighter bracket in SolidWorks, then bench-test last week's printed prototype.

13:00
Line decision

Borderline batch: scrap it or rework by hand? Call it, document the reasoning.

14:00
Process update

Write up the parameter change from this morning so every shift builds it the same.

15:00
Handoff & close

Brief incoming shift lead, flag the sensor anomaly, log open items for tomorrow.

Things you do
  • Program robots and machines to build products faster and more precisely.
  • Spot problems on the production line and fix them before they pile up.
  • Design and test new parts using CAD software on a computer.
  • Read live sensor data to catch equipment issues before breakdowns happen.
  • Run experiments to find cheaper, stronger, or lighter materials.
Decisions you’ll make
  • This machine keeps glitching, do I stop the line or push through?
  • Should I fix this defect by hand, or scrap the whole batch?
  • Is this part good enough, or is it just barely inside the limits?
  • Do I automate this step, or is a human still cheaper here?
  • Is this weird sensor reading a real problem, or just noise?
Education Pathways · how you get there
100 in 100 went the college route · 0 in 100 found another way in None, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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