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Job Description | Duties | Working Conditions
Educational Requirements | Outlook | Salary
Related Clusters:
Architecture and Construction
Job Description: An apprenticeship is a formal method of training in a skilled occupation or trade. For general information about apprenticeships, training, and partnerships with business, visit the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services (OATELS) website. OATELS is the Federal program that administers the National Registered Apprenticeship System (NRAS). It is a consolidation of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training and the new responsibilities of the employer and labor liaison dedicated to building a workforce for the 21st century.
Apprentice machinists are paid trainees who learn to set up and operate many types of machines that cut and shape metal parts. They receive on-the-job training from experienced machinists as well as instructions in formal classes.
Duties: The principal job of most machinists is to operate machine tools. A machine tool is a stationary power-driven machine that firmly holds both the piece of metal to be shaped and the cutting tool. Machinists may perform some or all of the following duties:
- Read blueprints
- Measure layouts
- Cut metal into desired shapes using machine tools such as lathes, drilling and boring machines, grinding machines, milling machines, shapers, broachers, or planers
Working Conditions: Machinists generally work indoors surrounded by high-speed cutting tools and moving machinery. Noise levels may be high. Many times metal chips and abrasive dusts are in the air. The work can be physically strenuous and involve some heavy lifting. Machinists must be able to concentrate in order to be precise.
Educational Requirements: Applicants for a machinist apprenticeship must complete high school or the equivalent (G.E.D.). To be an apprentice, applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 25, and must become a member of a labor union. For related information and recommended courses to prepare for this occupation, Tennessee high school students may visit the Trade and Industrial Education Standards, Competency Profiles, and Resource Links online. For additional information on education and training in this field visit the Precision Machined Products Association or the National Tooling and Machining Association online.
Outlook: The estimated number of machinists in Tennessee is 10,630. It is projected there will be an increase of 10 percent in this occupation through the year 2012 with 350 job openings annually. Job opportunities are expected to remain good. For additional information on this occupation, visit the nationally recognized Occupational Outlook Handbook online.
| 10% | 25% | Median- 50% | 75% | 90% | |
| TN Annual | $19,760 | $24,940 | $32,880 | $40,600 | $49,810 |
| US Annual | $21,400 | $27,330 | $34,770 | $43,300 | $52,640 |
*Some salaries are listed at an hourly rate. Those that include a single dollar amount are considered hourly wage.
Wage and salary data provided by:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tennessee Department of Labor website
- TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development website
- Bureau of Economic Analysis website
For an explanation of salary data please visit acinet.org
Last updated on: January 23, 2008