Operations Officer Salary

Created by Henry Steele

By Henry Steele - January 8, 2018
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The following article discusses the career path of Operations Officer. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Operations Officers.

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Job Duties

Operations officers are responsible for the organization’s production of services and/or goods, ensuring they are at top performance. They head a number of different departments, including manufacturing, warehousing, and purchasing. They have to make sure that all products meet the expectations of the clients and customers and always aim to even exceed these. They must ensure that all operations run effectively and smoothly. They have budgetary responsibility and, in smaller organizations, they may also be responsible for setting profit and sales goals. They must also ensure that all operations are conducted safely, ensuring full compliance with relevant rules and regulations.

Other job duties of an operations officer include:

  • Managing the operations of a department or a company
  • Heading a department, taking care of recruitment, compensation, discipline, promotions, and termination of staff
  • Managing and monitoring all operational costs

Where We Work

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 114,000 operations research analysts in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals were:

  • Finance and insurance: 28%
  • Professional, scientific, and technical services: 22%
  • Management of companies and enterprises: 9%
  • Manufacturing: 9%
  • Federal government: 5%

How to Become

At the heart of the duties of an operations officer lies the opportunity to spot procedural, technical, and structural problems and then coming up with solutions to improve on these. In order to be able to do this, they must have an in-depth understanding of dynamic market needs. Most operations officers have a production or commerce background and have important business skills that enable them to make decisions and recommendations.

Education Requirements

Operations officers usually have a bachelor’s degree as a minimum, but a master’s degree is strongly preferred. A bachelor’s in operations research is a good starting point, although others focus on different quantitative or technical fields, such as mathematics, analytics, computer science, or engineering.

Operations are based on quantitative skills. Hence, mathematics should be one of the core subjects studied. These include linear algebra, calculus, and statistics. Computer science is also very important, as an officer must use advanced database and statistical software in order to model and analyze data. Other courses, such as economics, engineering, and political science can also be beneficial as operations management is multidisciplinary and can be applied to many different fields.

Operations officers must also be committed to continuing education. They must keep their knowledge up to date in relation to software tools, technology, and improved analytical methods. It is quite common for these professionals to have a military background.

Traits & Qualities

The most effective operations officers have the following traits to some degree or other:

  • Strong analytical skills
  • Excellent communication skill
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Great interpersonal skills
  • Strong mathematical skills
  • Excellent problem solving skills
  • Great writing skill

Minimum Education

Bachelor’s Degree

National Salary

The national average salary estimate for Operations Officer was $96,045. This number is estimated from over 341,824 employees, users past and present job advertisements from Indeed.com. This equates to an hourly salary of $50.02 and monthly of $8,004.

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$19,000

$232,000

Salary Distribution

Salary by State

The following section lists Operations Officer salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Montana had the largest quoted salary of $171,322 while New Mexico had the smallest quoted salary of $64,760.

AlaskaHawaiiMississippiOregon
AlabamaIowaMontanaPennsylvania
ArkansasIllinoisNorth CarolinaSouth Carolina
ArizonaKansasNew JerseyTennessee
CaliforniaKentuckyNew MexicoTexas
ColoradoLouisianaNevadaUtah
DCMarylandNew YorkVirginia
FloridaMichiganOhioWashington
GeorgiaMissouriOklahoma
Alaska – $91,683Rank: 12th
The average salary ranks 12th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Workplace Alaska.

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$30,000

$185,000

Salary Distribution
Alabama – $89,562Rank: 17th
The average salary ranks 17th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$17,000

$221,000

Salary Distribution
Arkansas – $80,209Rank: 29th
The average salary ranks 29th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like University of Arkansas.

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$20,000

$179,000

Salary Distribution
Arizona – $124,172Rank: 3rd
The average salary ranks 3rd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$30,000

$282,000

Salary Distribution
California – $103,287Rank: 11th
The average salary ranks 11th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and MUFG Union Bank.

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$20,000

$250,000

Salary Distribution
Colorado – $88,902Rank: 19th
The average salary ranks 19th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Air Force, Federal Government Jobs, and U.S. Army.

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$19,000

$210,000

Salary Distribution
DC – $86,980Rank: 20th
The average salary ranks 20th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like United States Department Of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Transportation.

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$26,000

$183,000

Salary Distribution
Florida – $83,801Rank: 25th
The average salary ranks 25th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army, Jacksonville Aviation Authorit, Palm Beach County Human Resources, and City Wide Maintenance.

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$17,000

$199,000

Salary Distribution
Georgia – $81,518Rank: 27th
The average salary ranks 27th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army.

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$17,000

$195,000

Salary Distribution
Hawaii – $91,624Rank: 13th
The average salary ranks 13th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army and Department of Agriculture.

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$25,000

$200,000

Salary Distribution
Iowa – $72,569Rank: 34th
The average salary ranks 34th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Management Recruiters of Wausau.

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$23,000

$148,000

Salary Distribution
Illinois – $84,452Rank: 23rd
The average salary ranks 23rd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like North Chicago Community Unit School District #187.

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$14,000

$219,000

Salary Distribution
Kansas – $89,878Rank: 16th
The average salary ranks 16th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$33,000

$173,000

Salary Distribution
Kentucky – $82,993Rank: 26th
The average salary ranks 26th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$27,000

$168,000

Salary Distribution
Louisiana – $105,002Rank: 10th
The average salary ranks 10th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army and CyberCoders.

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$23,000

$246,000

Salary Distribution
Maryland – $90,852Rank: 15th
The average salary ranks 15th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like United States Department Of Defense and City of Baltimore.

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$29,000

$187,000

Salary Distribution
Michigan – $78,529Rank: 30th
The average salary ranks 30th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Federal Government Jobs.

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$16,000

$188,000

Salary Distribution
Missouri – $86,230Rank: 21st
The average salary ranks 21st among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$24,000

$185,000

Salary Distribution
Mississippi – $75,666Rank: 33rd
The average salary ranks 33rd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Air Force.

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$17,000

$175,000

Salary Distribution
Montana – $171,322Rank: 1st
The average salary ranks 1st among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$86,000

$267,000

Salary Distribution
North Carolina – $76,883Rank: 31st
The average salary ranks 31st among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

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$17,000

$179,000

Salary Distribution
New Jersey – $108,066Rank: 9th
The average salary ranks 9th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Execu|Search and Fran Rogers Personnel.

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$15,000

$292,000

Salary Distribution
New Mexico – $64,760Rank: 35th
The average salary ranks 35th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Albuquerque Animal Welfare and City of Albuquerque.

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$24,000

$124,000

Salary Distribution
Nevada – $90,956Rank: 14th
The average salary ranks 14th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$14,000

$254,000

Salary Distribution
New York – $85,661Rank: 22nd
The average salary ranks 22nd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army, HSBC, Ithaca College, and U.S. Air Force.

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$15,000

$214,000

Salary Distribution
Ohio – $118,030Rank: 5th
The average salary ranks 5th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$29,000

$266,000

Salary Distribution
Oklahoma – $84,442Rank: 24th
The average salary ranks 24th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$26,000

$176,000

Salary Distribution
Oregon – $109,984Rank: 8th
The average salary ranks 8th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$24,000

$259,000

Salary Distribution
Pennsylvania – $119,855Rank: 4th
The average salary ranks 4th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders and Cumberland County.

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$23,000

$292,000

Salary Distribution
South Carolina – $75,697Rank: 32nd
The average salary ranks 32nd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army.

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$16,000

$180,000

Salary Distribution
Tennessee – $129,193Rank: 2nd
The average salary ranks 2nd among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like Robert Half Technology.

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$41,000

$266,000

Salary Distribution
Texas – $80,211Rank: 28th
The average salary ranks 28th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army, National Guard, Department of Aging and Disability, and City of Dallas.

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$15,000

$198,000

Salary Distribution
Utah – $114,186Rank: 6th
The average salary ranks 6th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like CyberCoders.

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$26,000

$263,000

Salary Distribution
Virginia – $89,142Rank: 18th
The average salary ranks 18th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, City of Norfolk, VA, and Capital Region Airport Commission.

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$25,000

$192,000

Salary Distribution
Washington – $110,240Rank: 7th
The average salary ranks 7th among states in the country. There were also job openings from employers like U.S. Army and CyberCoders.

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$24,000

$259,000

Salary Distribution

Top 20 National Employers

According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Operations Officer. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.

Employer NameLocationAverage Salary
Hays Operations OfficerTexas$240,568
LOS ANGELES METRO Operations OfficerCalifornia$239,664
Execu|Search Operations OfficerNew Jersey$221,371
Quadrant Distribution LLC Operations OfficerCalifornia$187,200
CyberCoders Operations OfficerOhio$175,356
Robert Half Technology Operations OfficerTennessee$158,339
North Chicago Community Unit School District #187 Operations OfficerIllinois$150,000
Cumberland County Operations OfficerPennsylvania$131,313
Federal Government Jobs Operations OfficerMichigan$130,532
U.S. Air Force Operations OfficerNew York$123,373
City Wide Maintenance Operations OfficerFlorida$122,474

Learn More

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Henry Steele
Managing Editor
Henry is Managing Editor of BusinessStudent.com. He is a seasoned business professional who regularly consults with local business's throughout Southern California. Henry pursued his undergrad in Business and Economics at the University of San Diego and gained valuable life changing experience through a unique internship upon graduation.

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