Precision to the thousandth. Every time.
CNC machinists turn raw stock into parts that fly, drive, and hold together — precision manufacturing that never left, it just got harder to staff. This guide breaks down real pay by experience level and what actually moves the number.
CNC Machinist
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks this trade under "machinists" — that category posted a median annual wage of $56,150 as of May 2024, the most recent OEWS data available. The BLS also projects employment growth of a projected 2% decline in headcount from 2024 to 2034 due to automation efficiency, but still about 34,200 openings a year driven by retirements.
Operator / Entry ($18–23/hr) is where most people start in this trade — typically through a formal apprenticeship, trade school program, or on-the-job training under a more experienced technician or lead.
Setup / Machinist ($26–36/hr) is where you can handle a much broader share of the work with less supervision.
Programmer / Senior ($38–52+/hr) covers senior specialists and crew leads — the people called in when the job is too complex or too urgent for anyone else.
Machinists who can program multi-axis toolpaths, not just run them, earn significantly more than operator-only roles.
Aerospace, medical device, and defense machining pay well above general fabricated-metal work.
Tool and die makers — the most advanced machining specialty — earn the highest wages in the field.
Night-shift and weekend production runs carry meaningful pay premiums in most shops.
This guide describes the work editorially rather than using invented worker testimonials. In cnc machinist, pay tends to move with demonstrable experience, harder-to-find skills, job conditions, geography, credentials where relevant, and the amount of responsibility you can take on safely.
Use the salary guide as context, then choose the path that actually fits you.
Build a role, location, experience and credential profile for possible employer matching.
Get Matched →Send Careers In Trades a structured hiring brief instead of a generic job-board post.
Submit a Hiring Need →Jobs In CNCMachinist is one of 13 trade-specific sites in the Careers In Trades network.