Management · Holland code ECS

General and Operations Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations, overseeing multiple departments or locations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse and general in nature to be classified in any one functional area of management or administration, such as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services. Usually manage through subordinate supervisors. Excludes First-Line Supervisors.

Also called: General Manager (GM), Operations Director, Operations Manager, Store Manager, Business Manager, Center Manager, Department Manager, District Manager.

O*NET 11-1021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $105,770; Middle half earn $72,320 to $167,280. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 29% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Review financial statements, sales or activity reports, or other performance data to measure productivity or goal achievement or to identify areas needing cost reduction or program improvement.
Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
Manage the movement of goods into and out of production facilities to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, or sustainability of operations.
Direct administrative activities directly related to making products or providing services.
Set prices or credit terms for goods or services, based on forecasts of customer demand.
Prepare staff work schedules and assign specific duties.
Direct or coordinate financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
Perform sales floor work, such as greeting or assisting customers, stocking shelves, or taking inventory.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Monitoring4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.6 / 5

Knowledge areas

Administration and Management4.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5
Production and Processing3.6 / 5
Mathematics3.5 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic20
Investigative23
Artistic5
Social40
Enterprising100
Conventional72

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

fire commissioner · DE Brandinspektor/Brandinspektorin · FR chef de centre d'incendie et de secours
public administration manager · DE Leiter im öffentlichen Dienst/Leiterin im öffentlichen Dienst · FR administrateur de la fonction publique/administratrice de la fonction publique
business manager · DE Manager/Managerin · FR responsable commercial/responsable commerciale
branch manager · DE Niederlassungsleiter/Niederlassungsleiterin · FR directeur régional/directrice régionale
chief operating officer · DE Leiter des operativen Geschäftsbereichs/Leiterin des operativen Geschäftsbereichs · FR directeur général adjoint/directrice générale adjointe
strategic planning manager · DE Führungskraft für Unternehmensplanung · FR directeur du planning stratégique/directrice du planning stratégique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Purchasing managers and directors (1134)61,700 employed
Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport (1140)30,300 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “管理的職業従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥551,300; Middle half earn ¥446,900 to ¥687,300 a month.
Workers in the category: 1,758,300; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.57. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-1021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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