How to Become an Operations Manager

If you enjoy dealing with complex tasks and believe you have the business acumen to make it to the top, you may be interested in a career as an operations manager. Operations management is a long-term career that may take many years to obtain, but is extremely worthwhile.

What Is an Operations Manager?

An operations manager is usually responsible for the management of multiple businesses. As an example, an operations manager may be responsible for several chain restaurants within the same district or a series of retail locations across the nation.

Operations managers need to take the information from multiple business managers on-site and determine the best ways to increase efficiency and productivity throughout the system.

The responsibilities of an operations manager will vary highly dependent on industry. Usually an operations manager will have a background of both experience and education that helps them with their management.

Operations managers usually have close to a decade of experience within their industry and are highly skilled and highly paid professionals. O*Net Online lists the field of general and operations management as a field that has a very bright outlook.

What Does an Operations Manager Do?

How to Become an Operations Manager

The responsibilities of an operations manager will vary highly dependent on industry.

An operations manager will work closely with the owner of the company and the managers under them to ensure that everything is running as it should and that any and all modifications that would increase the overall efficiency of a company are handled appropriately.

An operations manager usually won’t concern themselves with the small scale operations of a company but will instead work with the reports provided to them by the business management staff on-site.

Operations managers may or may not have the capacity to promote and fire business managers and many of their responsibilities and benefits will vary depending on industry. Operations managers will often need to consult the owner of the company and will need to discuss ways the owner’s goals can be met through the appropriate management of the company. Operations managers will also need to create their own reports from the reports given to them.

How Do You Become an Operations Manager?

Becoming an operations manager usually begins with either a Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in business. An operations manager will usually have anywhere from five to ten years of experience within their chosen field.

The normal career path is to become an assistant manager, then a manager, then a business manager and finally an operations manager or a general manager. Those very skilled at their work may be able to skip ahead through some of these promotions.

Operations managers need to show that they are dedicated to their company and that they are able to manage many complex tasks at once.

$101,250
Bachelor's Degree

None
2,136,900
5%
97,000
Find Related CareersSOURCE: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Operations managers that do not have degrees may be asked to acquire their degree before their promotion to build a solid foundation of knowledge.

Operations managers in different industries may have more stringent requirements. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial managers tend to be higher paid than other industries and require more advanced credentials.

How Does an Operations Manager Advance?

Operations managers are extremely high on the corporate ladder. To become more advanced as an operations manager, an operations manager may move to a larger company or may even start their own company. Operations managers that show excellent results can easily move into larger corporations, and the larger the corporation is the more highly paid the position usually is.

An operations manager will usually be able to develop their career through the results they can show their company. Increasing a company’s profitability and networking consistently is an excellent path to success in this career.

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