From small machine shops to giant assembly lines, production supervisors oversee all sorts of manufacturing operations.
Cathleen Kadletz is a production supervisor for RedEye, a 3D printing company. It's not a traditional manufacturer but the stresses she faces are similar to that of other production supervisors -- only compressed into a shorter time frame.
"We don't have two to three months to produce something; we have two to three days," she said.
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Speed is important but quality matters as well. That can be hard to juggle when clients are pestering you to complete a job.
Many production supervisors start with little formal eduction. They rise through the ranks by demonstrating initiative and capability on the job.
Production supervisors are fairly well paid, with a median salary of more than $56,000. Big factories may pay foremen in the low six figures. Smaller production lines pay considerably less, but the pressure may not be any lower.
