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Date: 05/15/2026

Machinists

Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Test experimental models under simulated operating conditions, for purposes such as development, standardization, or feasibility of design.
    • Establish work procedures for fabricating new structural products, using a variety of metalworking machines.
    • Lay out, measure, and mark metal stock to display placement of cuts.
    • Install repaired parts into equipment or install new equipment.
    • Test experimental models under simulated operating conditions, for purposes such as development, standardization, or feasibility of design.
    • Separate scrap waste and related materials for reuse, recycling, or disposal.
    • Design fixtures, tooling, or experimental parts to meet special engineering needs.
    • Dismantle machines or equipment, using hand tools or power tools to examine parts for defects and replace defective parts where needed.
    • Set up or operate metalworking, brazing, heat-treating, welding, or cutting equipment.
    • Set up, adjust, or operate basic or specialized machine tools used to perform precision machining operations.
    • Confer with numerical control programmers to check and ensure that new programs or machinery will function properly and that output will meet specifications.
    • Support metalworking projects from planning and fabrication through assembly, inspection, and testing, using knowledge of machine functions, metal properties, and mathematics.
    • Monitor the feed and speed of machines during the machining process.
    • Fit and assemble parts to make or repair machine tools.
    • Diagnose machine tool malfunctions to determine need for adjustments or repairs.
    • Program computers or electronic instruments, such as numerically controlled machine tools.
    • Support metalworking projects from planning and fabrication through assembly, inspection, and testing, using knowledge of machine functions, metal properties, and mathematics.
    • Set up or operate metalworking, brazing, heat-treating, welding, or cutting equipment.
    • Measure, examine, or test completed units to check for defects and ensure conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, such as micrometers.
    • Align and secure holding fixtures, cutting tools, attachments, accessories, or materials onto machines.
    • Check work pieces to ensure that they are properly lubricated or cooled.
    • Dismantle machines or equipment, using hand tools or power tools to examine parts for defects and replace defective parts where needed.
    • Prepare working sketches for the illustration of product appearance.
    • Study sample parts, blueprints, drawings, or engineering information to determine methods or sequences of operations needed to fabricate products.
    • Install experimental parts or assemblies, such as hydraulic systems, electrical wiring, lubricants, or batteries into machines or mechanisms.
    • Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
    • Operate equipment to verify operational efficiency.
    • Confer with engineering, supervisory, or manufacturing personnel to exchange technical information.
    • Dispose of scrap or waste material in accordance with company policies and environmental regulations.
    • Operate equipment to verify operational efficiency.
    • Calculate dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers or vernier calipers.
    • Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
    • Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, shapers, or grinders.
    • Maintain machine tools in proper operational condition.
    • Evaluate machining procedures and recommend changes or modifications for improved efficiency or adaptability.
    • Lay out, measure, and mark metal stock to display placement of cuts.
    • Install repaired parts into equipment or install new equipment.
    • Advise clients about the materials being used for finished products.

    Skills

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    Knowledge

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 56200/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 27.02/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 26,180
    • Yearly Projected Openings 2550

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Perseverance

    Tools

    • Adjustable angle plate
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Angle cutter
    • Anvils
    • Arbors
    • Ball peen hammer
    • Bench dog
    • Bench vises
    • Binocular light compound microscopes
    • Blow torch
    • Boring machines
    • Calipers
    • Casting machines
    • Center gauge
    • Chamfering machine
    • Chucks
    • Cold chisels
    • Column and knee milling machine
    • Combination pliers
    • Combination wrenches
    • Coordinate measuring machines CMM
    • Cylinder gauge
    • Deburring tool
    • Desktop computers
    • Dial indicator or dial gauge
    • Double ended stud
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Drilling machines
    • End cut pliers
    • Facial shields
    • Feeler gauges
    • Flat hand file
    • Forklifts
    • Gage block set
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Grinders
    • Grinding machines
    • Hacksaw
    • Half round file
    • Hammers
    • Hand clamps
    • Hand reamer
    • Height gauges
    • Hex keys
    • Honing machine
    • Horizontal machining center
    • Horizontal turning center
    • Hydraulic press frames
    • Induction heating machine
    • Ladders
    • Laser printers
    • Levels
    • Locking pliers
    • Machine end mill
    • Magnetic tools
    • Manual press brake
    • Metal band sawing machine
    • Metal broaching machines
    • Metal cutters
    • Metal inert gas welding machine
    • Micrometers
    • Mill saw file
    • Milling machines
    • Multi-tasking or universal machining center
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Pitch measuring instruments
    • Planing machines
    • Plasma arc welding machine
    • Platform lift
    • Pneumatic sanding machines
    • Power buffers
    • Power chippers
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power planes
    • Power sanders
    • Power saws
    • Protractors
    • Pry bars
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Putty knives
    • Radius gauge
    • Ratchets
    • Rubber mallet
    • Rulers
    • Safety glasses
    • Saws
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scribers
    • Shaper cutter
    • Sharpening stones or tools or kits
    • Shears
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Sine bar
    • Sledge hammer
    • Slings
    • Socket sets
    • Spot welding machine
    • Squares
    • Surface gauge
    • Surface grinding machine
    • Swaging tools
    • Taps
    • Telescoping gauge
    • Thermal spray machine
    • Thread counters or gauges
    • Threading die hand tool
    • Threading machine
    • Tongs
    • Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
    • Traveling column milling machine
    • Tube bending machine
    • Tungsten inert gas welding machine
    • Turret lathe
    • Utility knives
    • Vertical machining center
    • Wave soldering machine
    • Wedges
    • Welder torch
    • Welding masks
    • Workshop cranes

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Industrial control software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Procedure management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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