Logistics & manufacturing careers

14 paths from our 150-career library, compared on the numbers that matter — median pay runs $38k to $95k. Every profile below includes the full roadmap, honest pros and cons, and a networking playbook.

Supply Chain ManagerOperations · median $95k · 6–12 monthsKeep goods moving: forecasts, suppliers, inventory math, and firefighting the link that broke overnight.Quality Assurance Specialist (Food & Pharma)Regulated QA · median $68k · 6–12 monthsReview batch records for deviations, walk the production floor checking logs, coach an operator through a CAPA, and prep binders for next month's audit.Procurement SpecialistProcurement · median $68k · 6–12 monthsFloat an RFQ to five suppliers, chase a late PO, talk a 4% price hike down to 1.5%, and log savings you can prove.Production PlannerProduction planning · median $65k · 6–12 monthsRun MRP, find the part that isn't coming, reshuffle the week's schedule around it, and broker peace between sales and the shop floor.Freight BrokerFreight brokerage · median $65k · 3–6 monthsFifty calls before lunch — quoting shippers, covering loads, talking a carrier off a cliff — while the margin board updates live.Industrial Maintenance TechnicianIndustrial maintenance · median $62k · 3–6 monthsA conveyor drops at 2am and the plant bleeds money by the minute — you diagnose, swap the drive, and bring the line back.Diesel TechnicianDiesel repair · median $60k · 3–6 monthsPM a tractor, chase an air leak, drop a transmission — big iron, big torque specs, and freight that can't wait.CDL Truck DriverCommercial driving · median $58k · 3–6 monthsPre-trip at dawn, hours of road and logbook discipline, then back a 53-footer into a dock that wasn't built for one.Warehouse Operations SupervisorWarehouse operations · median $58k · 3–6 monthsWalk the floor at shift start, clear a dock jam, coach a struggling picker, and defend your UPH numbers on the 2pm ops call.Postal Carrier (USPS)Postal service · median $56k · 3–6 monthsCase your route by muscle memory, load the LLV, then walk 8–12 miles delivering to houses whose dogs and birthdays you'll come to know.WelderWelding · median $55k · 3–6 monthsHood down, arc lit, running beads that get X-rayed — fab shop or windy field, your welds hold or they don't.Logistics CoordinatorLogistics · median $55k · 3–6 monthsTrack forty loads, rebook the carrier that fell off, calm a customer, and update the TMS before the next fire flares.Quality Control InspectorQuality control · median $52k · 3–6 monthsMic the first-article parts, log measurements against the print, catch the drift before a bad batch ships, and defend the hold.Rideshare & Delivery DriverApp-based driving · median $38k · 0–3 monthsWork the morning airport surge, stack lunch deliveries across two apps, and log off the minute your daily number hits.

Which of these fits you? The 4-question quiz scores every career on pay vs. meaning, your way. Take the match quiz →