Also called: CNC Service Technician, Machine Tool Field Technician
Travels to factories to install, repair and calibrate CNC mills, lathes and laser cutters.
A shop's five-axis machine crashed into its own fixture, so you fly in, diagnose the damage, replace the spindle and laser-align the axes. Then you install a new machine down the road and train the operators. You get to work on million-dollar machines all over the country.
Estimated; travel and overtime boost pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate's in mechatronics or electrical technology, or CNC experience plus factory training.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Mechatronics, Electrical Technology, Machine Tool Technology.
Growing much faster than average (about 8% over 10 years). Industrial machinery mechanics overall.
Low risk for 10 years. CNC machines keep spreading; remote diagnostics help, but install and repair stay on-site and hands-on.
Classes: Machining CTE class, Electronics class, Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-9041.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.