Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
SOC 51-9032 · 2024-2034
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -6.3%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $47,162per year
- Projected openings
- 3,280
- Projected change
- -6.3%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Troubleshooting
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $54,585 | 260 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $51,340 | 210 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $46,979 | 130 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $45,851 | 260 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $45,635 | 100 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $44,712 | 180 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $44,486 | 130 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $44,354 | 570 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $43,632 | 1,160 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $42,085 | 80 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $40,690 | 400 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $34,565 | 80 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $37,957
- A quarter earn under
- $40,892
- Half earn under
- $47,162
- Three quarters earn under
- $52,450
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $63,231
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing | $47,428 | 3,500 | -2.9% |
| Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $46,937 | 5,890 | -14.1% |
| Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $49,556 | 6,410 | -11.7% |
| Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $49,842 | 4,980 | -3.5% |
| Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood | $48,471 | 3,670 | 0% |
| Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $60,397 | 1,390 | -20% |