Pick the first training topic
Set employee survey answers beside one department manager's concerns to choose which training topic comes first.
Career profile
Training and Development Manager
Training and development managers lead staff, programs and budgets that prepare workers for their roles.
A training session leaves learners confused, and you're the one who decides what to fix in it.
A day in the life
Price courses against the budget
List course prices side by side on a spreadsheet to see what the training budget can cover.
Sit in on a rehearsal
Watch an instructor rehearse a session, then suggest a plainer way to show one muddled step.
Fix a concept learners keep missing
Look over quiz scores, and when learners keep missing one concept, rewrite that course section.
Quick facts
Degree + experience
United States · 2025
$133,000 median
United States · May 2025
6.4% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Degree + experienceTypically a bachelor's degree and five or more years of related work experience.
Pay
$133,000 medianAnnual wages for training and development managers nationwide.
Outlook
6.4% projected growthAbout 4,100 openings per year are projected nationwide.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy helping someone explain an idea more clearly.
- You like organizing other people's work.
- You want evidence that a lesson helped.
Things to weigh
- Some jobs run beyond 40 hours a week.
- A limited budget can mean postponing training you consider useful.
Where AI may help
Some course-building tools, such as Rise, use artificial intelligence (AI) to draft lessons and quizzes from source material.
What people still lead
You choose the learning priorities and judge whether the training works.
What we can’t predict yet
How much course drafting shifts to AI—and how much checking those drafts need—will shape your team's workload.
Pay in context
Earnings
These figures cover training and development managers nationwide, across industries and experience levels.
The middle
The median was $133,000 a year, equivalent to $63.94 an hour. Half earned more and half less; this is not a starting salary.
The spread
The 10th-percentile wage was $79,550 and the 90th-percentile wage was $233,600. These mark the lower and upper ends of the wage distribution, not promotion steps.
Workplace matters
Industry medians were $156,440 in professional, scientific, and technical services and $114,970 in educational services.
Future openings
Employment is projected to grow 6.4%, with about 4,100 openings annually. Openings include replacing people who leave the occupation.
Getting started
Build from training work
- What the route involves
- Combine a bachelor's degree with experience as a training and development specialist.
- What it can lead to
- Build relevant experience for managing learning programs.
- What to check
- Some management jobs require a master's degree.
Bring experience from related work
- What the route involves
- Build experience in teaching, management, or human resources alongside your education.
- What it can lead to
- These backgrounds can meet related-experience requirements for training management.
- What to check
- Some employers also prefer experience in their industry.
Management usually follows related work experience.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the operation your team supports. Set clear priorities for trainers and check that new employees receive the training they need.
Connect training to results
Build skill in comparing training results with safety, quality, or productivity measures, then turn the findings into changes your team can carry out.
Lead across locations
A regional learning role can expand your responsibility to several sites. You coach local leaders, compare results, and travel between locations.
Where you can work
An organization's central office
Work with training specialists and department leaders, often during regular business hours. Much of the day involves meetings and program oversight.
- Office
- Indoors
A fulfillment center
In some warehouse operations, you join the site's leadership team. Training decisions connect directly to new-hire readiness, safety requirements, and how accurately work gets done.
- Indoors
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Plan a five-minute lesson on a familiar spreadsheet task. Choose one skill to check, ask a friend to try the lesson, then revise it where they get stuck. Decide what you would change before teaching a whole group. Notice whether you enjoy improving the plan as much as explaining the task.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Training and Development Managers — 11-3131.00. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Training and Development Managers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Training and Development Managers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–35. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Articulate. Build better courses faster with Articulate 360 AI. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Amazon. Learning Area Manager — Job ID 10489741. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Amazon. Regional Learning Manager, Grocery Shared Field — Job ID 10489629. Accessed 2026-10-03.