Factory Worker Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides in-depth information on the job description of a factory worker, including their tasks, duties, and responsibilities.

What Does a Factory Worker Do?

A factory worker is a person who is engaged in performing various jobs as found in factories like candy and beverage processing, dairy processing, leather industries, pharmaceutical companies and other similar industries.

They are involved in diverse activities depending on the type of factory they are employed with.

The factory worker job description entails diverse duties and responsibilities in relation to the products manufactured by the companies they work with.

The services of factory workers are usually utilized in an industrial unit set up where they engage in packing and processing support to bring the product to a state of completion.

They also run machines to carry out most of their duties but may also be required to engage manual proficiency in performing physical tasks.

Factory workers will be required to be proactive and flexible in order to be able to effectively carry out their roles.

They will also be required to be efficiently knowledgeable on procedures of safety and possess the knowledge of processing products.

The ability to adhere to instructions is also mandatory for such an individual.

The skill requirement for every factory worker will however depend on the factory environment in which they are employed.

He/she must therefore be in possession of both physical and mental dexterity to perform these duties effectively.

Factory Worker Job Description Example/Sample/Template

A candidate applying for the position of a factory worker should expect to perform some or all of the duties, tasks, and responsibilities shown in the job description example below, which usually make up the daily activities of people holding such position:

• Assemble raw materials for preparing, mixing, measuring and cooking crude resources
• Manage automated methods and temperatures for manufacturing products
• Fastening metal, plastics or other fixtures or cutouts where necessary and attaching straps and linings to products where required
• Assess the quality of readymade commodity and record accurate outcomes at specific times of the production operations
• Execute and manage machines, carry out inspections and packing of finished products
• Maintain a neat and sterile plant processing environment
• Operate machines in the process of producing commodities
• Examine the diverse products and other commodities
• Engage in processing of materials such as bleaching, dyeing and processing of textiles
• Engage in production of food products such as mixing, cooking and molding of dairy products
• Observe completion time and gather portions of products
• Evaluate samples of products and the operating machines for packaging
• Perform finishing functions such as treatments and spraying of products as necessary
• Work in an assembling environment in the process of operating inflating machines, cutting or molding.

Download job description template.

Factory Worker Job Description for Resume

In preparing a resume for the post of factory worker, the sample job description presented above can serve as a good source of information for making the resume.

Learn how to make an effective resume for the post by studying this sample copy: Factory Worker Resume Sample

Factory Worker Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Career Success

The following skills, knowledge, and abilities will be needed by a prospective factory worker to be able to perform his/her duties effectively:

• High school diploma with at least a credit in Mathematics and English language
• Graduate degree in any profession relating to dairy science, technology, textile, pharmaceuticals etc.
• Satisfactory knowledge of the commodity produced by the factory
• Acceptable knowledge of safety and health principles
• Capability to comprehend quality control techniques
• Ability to utilize diverse machines and possession of practical aptitude
• Sound communication aptitude in delivering beneficial teamwork
• Must be precise, careful, patient, responsible, swift and alert.

Factory Worker Employment Statistics

According to survey data on Zippia, the number of factory workers currently in employment in the United States is over 273,436.

The Zippia report also shows that while the average age of employed factory workers is 38, about 155,585 of them are male while 117,851 are female.

However, the May 2023 data on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, shows that there were 243,500 production workers (which is a similar job title to factory worker) in the United States.

Factory Worker Employment by Industry

The industries with the highest number of employed factory workers, according to Zippia, include:

Factory Worker Employment by Industry. Data from Zippia

Factory Worker Employment by State

According to the BLS, the States that employed the highest number of production workers (also called factory workers) in the United States include California and Georgia, with 36,650 and 23,900 employments respectively.  

Factory Worker Salary Statistics

The average yearly salary of a factory worker in the U.S. is $29,343, according to the Zippia report and $41,400 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, Glassdoor posts the average factory worker salary as $38,542 per year while Indeed gives $38,444.

Factory Worker Salary by State

The BLS data of May 2023 shows the States that paid the highest salaries to factory workers in the United States to include District of Columbia and Massachusetts, with average yearly salary of $73,820 and $62,960 respectively.

Conclusion

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the factory worker job, to learn the duties and responsibilities of the position, as well as the employment outlook and the salary they can possibly earn.

It is also useful to employers and hiring managers in making an effective job description for the role.