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Career path · Operations & supply chain

Operations MBA career paths

The operations track develops MBAs to run how a company makes and delivers — process, logistics, and business operations leadership.

Career-path guideOccupational wage benchmarksROI calculator available
Mapped roles
5
occupations this path targets
With wage data
5
published benchmarks
Median wage span
$82k–$126k
across mapped roles
Verified MBA outcomes
0
still being collected

What operations roles pay

Wage ranges for the occupations a Operations MBA commonly targets — the soft band is the 10th–90th percentile, the solid band the middle 50%, the marker the median. These are occupational wage benchmarks, not MBA-specific salaries, but they show where this path can lead and how wide the spread runs.

Industrial Production Managers$126,060median
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers$107,230median
General and Operations Managers$105,770median
Operations Research Analysts$88,940median
Logisticians$82,320median
10th–90th pct middle 50% median
Broad benchmarkBLS OEWS · May 2024 estimates (published April 2025) · United States

These are occupational wage benchmarks for roles MBA graduates commonly target — wage context across all workers, not verified MBA-specific outcomes.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics ↗

Operations Research Analysts

$88,940median

$57k$160k+

Process, cost, and optimization analysis.

Logisticians

$82,320median

$51k$133k+

Logistics, planning, and fulfillment.

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

$107,230median

$65k$195k+

Distribution and operations-management leadership.

Industrial Production Managers

$126,060median

$78k$206k+

Production and plant operations management.

General and Operations Managers

$105,770median

$50k$253k+

Business-operations and GM leadership.

See the full benchmark table
Role (occupation)Median annual10th–90th pctU.S. employment
Operations Research Analysts
Process, cost, and optimization analysis.
SOC 15-2031
$88,940$57,060 $159,910108,510
Logisticians
Logistics, planning, and fulfillment.
SOC 13-1081
$82,320$50,890 $133,160251,040
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
Distribution and operations-management leadership.
SOC 11-3071
$107,230$65,120 $194,900221,180
Industrial Production Managers
Production and plant operations management.
SOC 11-3051
$126,060$78,000 $205,520246,250
General and Operations Managers
Business-operations and GM leadership.
SOC 11-1021
$105,770$50,090 $253,3903,503,020
Broad benchmarkBLS OEWS · May 2024 estimates (published April 2025) · United States

These are occupational wage benchmarks for roles MBA graduates commonly target — wage context across all workers, not verified MBA-specific outcomes.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics ↗

Roles this path leads to

Operations manager

Owns throughput, quality, and cost in a function or site.

Supply chain manager

Plans sourcing, inventory, and distribution.

Business operations lead

Runs the planning and execution rhythm of a business unit.

Process / continuous improvement

Drives lean and process redesign initiatives.

Functions you'd own

Where this path tends to map inside a company.

OperationsSupply chainBusiness operationsProcess

Where graduates land

Common industries for this path — tap any to explore it.

What affects your pay on this path

Two people on the same path can earn very differently. These are the factors that move the number most — worth weighing as you plan your MBA.

  • Industry and asset intensity
  • Scope and span of control
  • Site vs. corporate role
  • Geography

Related tools

Help us add real salary ranges for Operations MBAs

SalaryMBA is built from real outcomes people share. A reliable range here needs:

  1. 1A handful of real, reviewed outcomes from people on this path
  2. 2Their school, role, industry, and city — so ranges reflect like-for-like
  3. 3Public datasets and school reports to cross-check the numbers

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