Also called: Gauge Maker, Thread Gage Maker
Makes the ultra-precise plug, ring and thread gages that factories use to check whether parts are the right size.
You grind a steel plug gage to a size accurate within a few millionths of an inch, then lap it by hand until it is mirror smooth. You check it in a temperature-controlled lab against master blocks. That gage will decide whether thousands of engine parts pass or fail.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 3 years after high school. Machinist apprenticeship or precision machining training.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Precision Machining Technology.
Growing slowly. Small trade; digital measuring replaces some gages.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Digital measuring tools replace some gages, but making master gages by hand stays skilled work.
Classes: Shop class, Geometry, Physics, Algebra.
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.