Career
Tool and die makers
Make the tools and dies factories depend on.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Verify dimensions, alignments, and clearances of finished parts for conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauge blocks, micrometers, or dial indicators.
- Set up and operate conventional or computer numerically controlled machine tools such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders to cut, bore, grind, or otherwise shape parts to prescribed dimensions and finishes.
- Visualize and compute dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of assemblies, based on specifications.
- Study blueprints, sketches, models, or specifications to plan sequences of operations for fabricating tools, dies, or assemblies.
- Fit and assemble parts to make, repair, or modify dies, jigs, gauges, and tools, using machine tools, hand tools, or welders.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Verify dimensions, alignments, and clearances of finished parts for conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauge blocks, micrometers, or dial indicators.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Operation and Control, Equipment Selection.
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 $64,050 a year and 4,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Tool and Die Technology/TechnicianCIP 48.0507
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners$50,060 · -6.8%
- Model Makers, Metal and Plastic$63,340 · -17.3%
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand$42,660 · -19.2%
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$52,800 · -13.2%
- Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$49,030 · -17.2%
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
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.