AbstractThispaper is concerned to establish the status ranking of ten different sectors of manufacturing and non‐manufacturing industry through analysis of the background and education of managers in these sectors. The ranking is then given confirmation by salary data. It is suggested that this ranking is based on differences between industries in science and technology, with corresponding differences in knowledge and skill needs and thus in the meaning of ‘management’, in sources of managerial recruitment, and in qualifications and requirements for education and tra