Operations Management runs the floor where products move
Operations Management and Supervision trains you to plan production, manage logistics, and supervise the people who keep factories, warehouses, and service operations on schedule. It is a hands-on, manufacturing-and-distribution-flavored cousin of the general business degree.
- Schools offering
- 176
- Annual completions
- 2,998
- Typical degree level
- Associate's + Bachelor's
- Median earnings (5yr)
- $60k
About this major
Operations Management and Supervision (CIP 52.0205) is a career-direct business major built around the people, processes, and physical assets that turn inputs into finished goods or services. Coursework typically includes production and inventory control, quality management, plant and facilities management, materials planning, industrial labor relations, productivity analysis, and supervisory communication. It sits closer to the factory floor and the distribution center than the corporate-finance side of business school.
The major suits students who want a business credential with a tangible, operations-side flavor — people who like fixing bottlenecks, running schedules, and managing crews, rather than building spreadsheets in a finance cubicle. It is also a sensible choice for working adults moving up from a frontline supervisor role into a salaried operations track, which is part of why the program shows a strong online and adult-learner footprint.
Nationally the major is small but stable: 176 institutions report graduates and total annual completions sit at 2,998. Median earnings five years after graduation come in at $60,233, with a clear bachelor’s premium — bachelor’s holders average $65,686 versus $48,463 for associate’s holders. That $17,000 gap is one of the wider associate-versus-bachelor splits in the business family and reflects how supervisory-track and corporate-operations roles screen for the four-year degree.
Where this major leads
Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.
| Occupation | Median wage | Job growth | Typical education |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-line supervisors of production and operating workers | $71k | +1.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Computer and information systems managers | $171k | +15.2% | Bachelor's degree |
| First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers | $78k | +3.1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Construction managers | $107k | +8.7% | Bachelor's degree |
| Industrial production managers | $121k | +1.9% | Bachelor's degree |
| Logisticians | $81k | +16.7% | Bachelor's degree |
| Facilities managers | $105k | +3.8% | Bachelor's degree |
| Business teachers, postsecondary | $97k | +5.7% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Earnings at a glance
Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.
Median 5-year earnings
$60k
Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings
Associate's
$48k
Bachelor's
$66k
Who this major is for
Strong-fit signals show up early. If you have already worked in a warehouse, restaurant kitchen, retail backroom, or manufacturing line and noticed yourself redesigning workflows or coaching newer workers without being asked, that instinct is the core of operations work. Students who enjoy the math of capacity planning and quality control but want it tied to physical processes — not abstract finance — tend to do well. Comfort with frontline communication matters as much as analytical skill, because most early roles involve running shifts and handling the human side of production.
The red flags are worth taking seriously. If your goal is a corner-office management title within a year or two of graduating, this is the wrong on-ramp; entry roles are coordinator and supervisor positions, and the $121,440 industrial production manager salary in the BLS data reflects a role most people reach after five to ten years of floor experience. If you dislike physical work environments, shift-work schedules, or the slower pace of manufacturing-sector promotions, a finance, marketing, or analytics major will fit better. The major also assumes you are willing to add a Lean Six Sigma credential on top of the degree, which many manufacturing employers now treat as table stakes.
Top colleges for Operations Management and Supervision
Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.
| College | Location | Assoc. | Bach. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester, NH | 0 | 376 | 376 |
| Washington State University | Pullman, WA | 0 | 188 | 188 |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | Cincinnati, OH | 0 | 150 | 150 |
| Fort Hays State University | Hays, KS | 0 | 143 | 143 |
| Ashford University | San Diego, CA | 0 | 123 | 123 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | Columbus, OH | 0 | 121 | 121 |
| Miami University-Oxford | Oxford, OH | 0 | 97 | 97 |
| University of Delaware | Newark, DE | 0 | 89 | 89 |
| Indiana University-Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | 0 | 78 | 78 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN | 0 | 75 | 75 |
Related majors to explore
Business Administration and Management, General
193,432 completions/yr
Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management
6,935 completions/yr
Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other
6,667 completions/yr
Organizational Leadership
4,923 completions/yr
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management
2,279 completions/yr
Engineering/Industrial Management
1,437 completions/yr
Office Management and Supervision
1,304 completions/yr
Aviation/Airway Management and Operations
1,211 completions/yr
Considering this direction?
We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Operations Management and Supervision field. Read our verdict before you commit.
Is Operations Management and Supervision worth it? Read verdict