Vocational Index

Career

Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

Program computer-controlled machine tools.

$68,120
Median pay
+5.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,700
Openings a year
Postsecondary nondegree award
Typical education
Under 2 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes.
  • Analyze job orders, drawings, blueprints, specifications, printed circuit board pattern films, and design data to calculate dimensions, tool selection, machine speeds, and feed rates.
  • Observe machines on trial runs or conduct computer simulations to ensure that programs and machinery will function properly and produce items that meet specifications.
  • Write programs in the language of a machine's controller and store programs on media, such as punch tapes, magnetic tapes, or disks.
  • Determine reference points, machine cutting paths, or hole locations, and compute angular and linear dimensions, radii, and curvatures.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+12.8%2025–35 edition+5.9%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 3,100 → 2,700 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Information & systems
5.9
Objects & tools
4.9
Ideas & analysis
3.6
Persuasion & leadership
1.7
Creation & expression
1.5
People & care
1.4

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then objects & tools?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Programming, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, Operations Monitoring.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

Under 2 years of education after high school (postsecondary nondegree award), for a median of $68,120 a year and 2,700 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC MachinistCIP 48.0510

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.