Also called: Gear Cutter, Gear Hobber, Gear Grinder Operator
Cuts and grinds the precise gears inside wind turbines, helicopters, cars and heavy machines.
You set up a gear hobbing machine, a strange-looking cutter that spins in sync with the blank to carve out perfect teeth. Then you check the tooth profile on a gear inspection machine. A helicopter gear has to be accurate to a few microns.
Estimated from BLS machinists.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 2 years after high school. Machinist training (trade school or apprenticeship) plus gear-specific experience.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Machine Tool Technology.
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Machinists overall.
Medium risk for 10 years. Gear CNCs and automated inspection reduce manual work, but setups and precision checks for critical gears stay human.
Classes: Machining CTE class, Trigonometry, Blueprint reading.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-4041.
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.