Also called: Turning Machine Operator
Sets up and runs lathes that spin metal while a tool shapes it into round parts like shafts and bolts.
You chuck a steel bar into the lathe, set your cutting tool, and watch curls of hot metal peel away. You measure diameters often because a little tool wear changes the size. By lunch you have a rack full of shafts.
BLS lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators and tenders; approximate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school plus on-the-job training.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Trade school. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Machine Tool Technology (certificate).
Shrinking (about -8% over 10 years). Manual lathes are being replaced by CNC.
High risk for 10 years. Manual and simple lathe work is moving to CNC and robot-tended cells; openings shrink steadily.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at machine shops or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Machining CTE class, Algebra, Blueprint reading.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-4034.
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.