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.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Social Perceptiveness
- Management of Personnel Resources
Key knowledge
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Administrative
- Economics and Accounting
What the work involves
- Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
- 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 administrative activities directly related to making products or providing services.
- Prepare staff work schedules and assign specific duties.
- Monitor suppliers to ensure that they efficiently and effectively provide needed goods or services within budgetary limits.
- Direct or coordinate financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
- Establish or implement departmental policies, goals, objectives, or procedures in conjunction with board members, organization officials, or staff members.
- Perform personnel functions, such as selection, training, or evaluation.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (28.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (24.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (26.1%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for General and Operations Managers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 71% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 83% of occupations compared | 79% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 95% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 68% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 80% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 72% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 72% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 12.43%
- Contact with others most of the time: 11.71%
- Constant contact with others: 75.87%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 2%
- Important: 8.06%
- Very important: 28.55%
- Extremely important: 61.39%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 3.42%
- Fairly important: 3.42%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 13.72%
- Extremely important: 79.43%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 2.29%
- Limited freedom: 0.33%
- Some freedom: 11.36%
- A lot of freedom: 86.02%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.9%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 40.61%
- Every day: 40.71%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.53%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.12%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.57%
- Every day: 10.78%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.6%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 58.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.51%
- Every day: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 36.21%
- Fairly serious: 12.24%
- Serious: 20.85%
- Very serious: 24.57%
- Extremely serious: 6.13%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 11-1021.00 · SOC 11-1021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8