Lean Jobs: Current Salary Trends

Salaries for people in dedicated lean positions in manufacturing haven’t changed much in the last couple of years, and salaries in manufacturing generally are down since last year, according to the annual salary survey by Industry Week.
The magazine’s survey, based on nearly 1,700 responses, found that the average salary for a lean or continuous improvement manager is $83,387. Six percent of the survey respondents, or more than 100 people, fell into that category.
For comparison purposes, the same number two years ago was $81,846. The new number is up less than 2 percent over that amount.
Any the magazine found that the average salary for all people in manufacturing, $95,248, was down 9.7 percent from last year.
Lean skills can be valuable in a variety of manufacturing positions, and many people who are lean leaders work at companies that don’t have dedicated lean posts. For example, the average salary for a VP of Operations is $135,869. That is the second-highest salary for any position, after corporate management (CEO, COO, president). The average for someone in operations management not at the VP level is $79,043.
The lean manager job mentioned earlier pays less than any director or VP position, but more than a position in manufacturing/production management, plant or facilities management, supply chain management, or purchasing/procurement management.
The vast majority of survey respondents were white men. In fact, Industry Week used the survey results to describe the “average manufacturing manager”:

A white male, between 50-59 years old, has worked in the manufacturing industry for more than 26 years, lives in the North Central region of the United States (i.e., the Midwest), has been with his current company for 3-5 years, has a bachelor's degree, works for a manufacturing of industrial products or machinery, and earns $95,248.

Does your experience match the survey results (in terms of salary level, or salaries going down in the past year)? Post your comments below.