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California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

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Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers

SOC 51-9162 · 2024-2034

Develop programs to control machining or processing of materials by automatic machine tools, equipment, or systems. May also set up, operate, or maintain equipment.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California
$83,963per year
Projected openings
3,190
Projected change
+10%
Usually needs
Postsecondary non-degree award

Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth

The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.

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.

  1. Programming
  2. Monitoring
  3. Mathematics
  4. Complex Problem Solving
  5. Systems Analysis
  6. Operations Monitoring

Pay by region

RegionTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openings
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)$100,474420
Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)$98,147170
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County)$81,842310
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$80,721900
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County)$79,315540
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County)$75,481110
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)$72,444330

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under
$57,176
A quarter earn under
$67,956
Half earn under
$83,963
Three quarters earn under
$105,330
The highest-paid tenth earn over
$128,885

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.

OccupationTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openingsProjected change
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$57,79916,320-11.5%
Machinists$58,49518,420-1.6%
Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians$83,8331,700+5.3%
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians$89,8363,330+5.4%
Mechanical Drafters$84,8203,040-5.1%
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technologists and Technicians$88,50011,520-2.9%

Programs that train for this job — 15