Production Scheduler job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

8

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-5061.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$59,650

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks (O*NET-SOC 43-5061.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Production Scheduler” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments. importance 4.3 of 5
2. Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities. importance 4.2 of 5
3. Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules. importance 4.0 of 5
4. Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays. importance 4.0 of 5
5. Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands. importance 3.9 of 5
6. Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes. importance 3.9 of 5
7. Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts. importance 3.8 of 5
8. Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Processing Information and Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Examine documents, materials, or products and monitor work processes to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications.
• Compile and prepare documentation related to production sequences, transportation, personnel schedules, or purchase, maintenance, or repair orders.
• Calculate figures, such as required amounts of labor or materials, manufacturing costs, or wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers.
• Contact suppliers to verify shipment details.
• Record production data, including volume produced, consumption of raw materials, or quality control measures.
• Establish and prepare product construction directions and locations and information on required tools, materials, equipment, numbers of workers needed, and cost projections.

Knowledge areas: Production and Processing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among production schedulers surveyed by O*NET is a high school diploma or equivalent (37%).

Job title: Production Scheduler
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Production Scheduler to coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments.
- Review documents, such as production schedules, work orders, or staffing tables, to determine personnel or materials requirements or material priorities.
- Arrange for delivery, assembly, or distribution of supplies or parts to expedite flow of materials and meet production schedules.
- Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, or customers to coordinate production or shipping activities and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays.
- Requisition and maintain inventories of materials or supplies necessary to meet production demands.
- Confer with department supervisors or other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes.
- Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.
- Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, or customer information, so that status reports can be completed.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, speaking and time management
- Working knowledge of Production and Processing and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks, the median annual wage was $59,650 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $28.68. BLS estimates about 390,160 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks to decline 1.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,600 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real production scheduler posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Distribute production schedules or work orders to departments”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only production scheduler work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and speaking): a real situation, what you did and what changed.