Advanced Manufacturing
What Is Advanced Manufacturing?
Advanced manufacturing is defined by manufacturing.gov as “the use of innovative technologies to create existing products and the creation of new products, including production activities that depend on information, automation, computation, software, sensing, and networking”.
Women make up nearly one-third of the manufacturing workforce. It’s easy to see yourself working in this field where nearly all the products and equipment used in daily life are produced. The four pathways below showcase some of the variety of jobs across the manufacturing sector.
I love working in a factory, I love doing something different each day, I love working with my hands, I love seeing the end results.
About Advanced Manufacturing Careers
The manufacturing workplace has become a much more high-tech place where automation drives many routine tasks. These changes require a skilled, trained workforce able to learn new technology on the job, and quickly adapt from one project to the next.
- Few barriers to entry: there are lots of opportunities for getting your foot in the door in this field.
- Good wages and employee benefits: growth and advancement allow for building higher wages and potentially great benefits!
- Master a particular career path or move from one path to the next as your skills and interests change. No matter what path you choose - getting started and getting paid is easier than ever.
- Long-term careers: as a dynamic industry, manufacturing will continue to grow and evolve as new innovations emerge creating new job types and functions.
- Career pathways will differ within each manufacturing company, but the pathways below show you how you might move from entry level to more advanced careers by building your skills and qualifications over time.
Facts About the Advanced Manufacturing Industry
- Manufacturing is the fourth largest industry sector in the United States.
- 11.6 million employees produce goods that are consumed domestically or exported abroad.
- Women make up nearly one-third of the manufacturing workforce.
- Manufacturing facilities are often described as plants, factories, or mills and generally use power-driven machines and materials-handling equipment.
- Manufacturers produce the food we eat, the medications that keep us healthy, the cars we drive, the phones we rely on, the clothes we wear, and so much more of the everyday conveniences that enhance our lives.
Get Started on the WISE Advanced Manufacturing Pathways
- Industrial Maintenance
Industrial maintenance involves installing or repairing electrical and mechanical equipment, preventive maintenance of machines, tools, and equipment, and installing and aligning new equipment in a variety of manufacturing settings.
- CNC Machining
Make precision parts with machine tools that use computer-controlled (CNC) machines and manual equipment. Work includes fabricating, modifying or repairing mechanical instruments, applying knowledge of mechanics, layout, and machining procedures.
- Welding
More than half of all American products manufactured require welding, including furniture, computer parts, machinery – just about anything you can think of that’s put together on a production line will need welding somewhere during the process.
- Automation & Robotics
Automation and robotics is a term used to describe the implementation of automation and robotics systems into the manufacturing environment to increase efficiency and productivity.