What Are The Best Paying Jobs In Capital Goods? Is This A Good Career for Beginners?
The capital goods sector employs profusely. The enormous workforce ensures that manufacturing process elements are accessible. Hence, producers can satisfy customer demand.
Meanwhile, the sector creates several job fields. That includes some of the highest-grossing jobs in the market, too.
With technical skills, your earning chances grow further in this sector. For example, the manufacturing process testers earn more than $10k monthly. Meanwhile, machine manufacturers and vehicle spare parts manufacturers also earn big time.
So, let’s debate whether the capital goods sector is a good career option. Firstly, we will compare tentative wages and market prospects.
You will also get complete guidance on achieving the highest-paying positions in this field.
What Are Capital Goods?
Examples of capital goods are products used to manufacture other consumer products. Meanwhile, they are not the products that end users receive. Let’s clear more clouds with some examples.
Imagine you work in a factory. There is a production line. But you don’t sell end products. You make machines that car manufacturers use in assembly lines. Hence, you will be a capital goods manufacturer.
There are many manufacturing companies in vehicles. But they make cars or wagons for the transportation of goods. Employees in those companies are capital goods sector workers.
Is the Capital Goods Industry growing?
You can’t earn big time if the industry has no money. But the capital goods sector is in good shape now. The leading consumer goods companies that rely on this sector are:
- Retail Manufacturing
- Energy and
- Construction
Nearly 6 million people work in this sector. However, that equals almost 13% of the workforce employed in the industry. The Labor Statistics Bureau also says the sector will grow 6% more in the next two years.
What companies are in the capital goods field paying high salaries?
There are many best paying jobs in consumer durables in usa. But what about capital goods? Some of the world’s biggest grocers are in this sector. All of them offer high paying jobs in capital goods and employee incentives:
- Union Pacific, working for the Railroad and transportation industry
- General Electric, working for a wide range of industries
- Northrop Grumman, making parts and multi-use components for the aerospace and defense sector
- 3M, working for the technology and industrial parts seller companies
How Does The Future Of Capital Goods Jobs Look?
The US is a significant capital goods provider. The BLS reports that in 2021, export prices for US capital goods grew 3.7 percent, indicating greater demand. Over the next ten years, the employment growth prediction for capital goods occupations ranges from four to 22 percent, indicating that most capital goods fields will see significant job growth.
High hourly compensation is expected in the capital goods industry, and even entry-level jobs typically pay substantially above the minimum wage. You may make more than $1,00,000 a year, depending on your background and skills. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, electronics engineers make a median pay of $1,07,540 annually.
Jobs in the capital goods sector come with many perks, pay, and job stability. So, we may consider capital goods a good career path. Careers in capital goods often satisfy workers. For instance, General Electric (GE) employees scored four stars against the job satisfaction criteria.
GE is one of the biggest businesses in the capital goods industry. So, their rating counts. They also said they would recommend the company to a friend 81% of the time.
Best Paying Jobs In Capital Goods
The best-paying jobs in capital goods are not the finer designations only. Firstly we will look at how many jobs are available in capital goods.
Secondly, we will check if the position’s average salary matches the industry standard. Lastly, we will observe job stability.
Combining the three, we can find the best jobs in this sector:
1. Quality Control Inspector
Average salary: $32,103 every year
The warehouse workers perform a range of versatile tasks. Primarily, they work for order fulfillment. Meanwhile, they ensure that the orders are packed promptly. They further ensure timely delivery of the orders.
Secondly, they indulge in loading and unloading of the delivery vehicles. Moreover, you will find warehouse workers doing stuff like:
- Ensuring equipment safety by packing them into pallets
- Moving equipment throughout the workstation
- Unloading stock and stashing them in the warehouse
So, we can say that they perform a dynamic range of functions. In the meantime, they try to keep their warehouse clean and ensure safety compliance.
2. Management Analyst
Average salary earned: $60,201 annually
Technicians mainly handle production equipment. That’s their primary work. They operate the equipment. At the same time, they maintain those equipment.
Secondly, they also maintain work logs. The technicians may not get the prime importance among all. But they play a crucial role in ensuring their equipment works seamlessly. In conclusion, we may say that technicians play a prominent role in maintaining productivity.
Technicians have diverse skill sets. Hence, their industry demand is relatively high. Meanwhile, they handle many multi-niche responsibilities like managing safety and training juniors to work safely.
3. Industrial Engineer
Average Annual Salary (USA): $90,000
In the capital goods industry, industrial engineers ensure that the equipment used in manufacturing is in excellent operating order. A manufacturing facility’s workflow is also designed to optimize efficiency and optimize operations in addition to equipment maintenance.
4. Mechanical Engineer
Average Annual Salary (USA): $92,000
A mechanical engineer creates, develops, and tests the machinery required for capital goods manufacture. Manufacturing mechanical engineers’ machines must adhere to industry norms or customer requirements. Mechanical engineers are crucial in the capital goods industry by providing technical services.
5. Electrical Engineer
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,05,000
Electrical engineers designed and built all of the electrical infrastructure to satisfy the unique needs of capital goods production plants. Along with designing and building the electrical components of the machinery utilized in the production process, they also maintain this specially-made machinery.
6. Software Developer
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,10,000
Capital goods firms depend on tech occupations such as software developers to operate efficiently. Capital goods companies can function more effectively thanks to the computer apps and programs developed by software developers. Despite not being directly connected to the factors of production, they support the continued profitability of capital goods enterprises.
7. Training And Development Manager
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,15,000
Training and development managers are in charge of developing other personnel in a capital goods firm. Because capital goods businesses supply specialized commodities like manufacturing technology for the electronics sector or transportation infrastructure for the chemicals industry, they play a significant role in this industry.
8. Sales Manager
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,32,000
A sales team is managed by a sales manager to sell a company’s goods. To market capital goods items, they must thoroughly grasp the capital goods production process. Sales managers require a bachelor’s degree in economics, business, or a related technical subject to estimate the items’ opportunity cost and marginal cost.
9. Marketing Manager
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,42,000
A marketing manager attracts customers’ interest in the company’s goods. A capital goods company’s marketing manager must be aware of the unique demands of their sector. Sales reps and marketing managers collaborate to set the product’s market price.
10. Engineering Manager
Average Annual Salary (USA): $1,50,000
Engineering managers in a capital goods firm organize, manage, and plan engineering projects. An engineering manager has to have years of professional experience and an engineering undergraduate degree. Making strategies to enhance the company’s engineering department is part of this responsibility as well. This is the best paying jobs in capital goods.
How To Find A Capital Goods Job?
There are various ways to find the best paying jobs in capital goods. Here are some methods that you can try out now!
1. Online Job Boards
These platforms are excellent resources for finding work in the capital goods industry. You may look for open positions by employer, job title, geography, and other factors.
2. Business Websites
First, make a checklist of good employers. After that, visit the career section of these employers periodically.
Hence, you will get to know people whenever they post new jobs. LinkedIn is another good platform to check out jobs from good employers.
3. Internships
Apply for an internship with a manufacturer of capital goods. If an intern does well during training, most businesses prefer recruiting them for full-time roles.
4. College Career Centers
Most institutions establish career centers to assist students in finding employment following graduation. Check out the career services your school offers if you are a student or recent graduate.
5. Professional Organizations
You can become a member of a professional organization in your industry. Hence, you can network with other professionals. It will help you gather updated knowledge on the job market in your industry. Typically, professional organizations have a job board as well.
Factors affecting salary in this sector
Capital Goods is a vast and dynamic sector. So, there will be ample factors determining the pay-out in this sector-
- The location of the job mainly decides how much employees should be paid
- Some sectors like aerospace and heavy manufacturing earn higher than average salary margins
- Experience level also remains a primary deciding factor.
- You also get better jobs and payscale if your education level improves.
- People with specialized field education can demand ever higher salaries
- Larger companies recruit more people at higher wages than the industry standard. For example- GE.
Final Verdict: Is Capital Goods A Good Career Path?
The capital goods business is a fantastic one to work in. The best paying jobs in capital goods provide competitive pay and engage everyday duties. Numerous positions are unionized, offer excellent perks, and have access to union resources. Ensure you are passionate about the work before entering the capital goods sector. The capital goods sector focuses on manufacturing and construction, which may be physically demanding employment depending on your profession.
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