Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$63,870

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$50,910 – $79,470

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

5,970

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-3.4%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

500

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.

Main tasks

• Mark curves, lines, holes, dimensions, and welding symbols onto workpieces, using scribes, soapstones, punches, and hand drills.
• Plan locations and sequences of cutting, drilling, bending, rolling, punching, and welding operations, using compasses, protractors, dividers, and rules.
• Fit and align fabricated parts to be welded or assembled.
• Locate center lines and verify template positions, using measuring instruments such as gauge blocks, height gauges, and dial indicators.
• Plan and develop layouts from blueprints and templates, applying knowledge of trigonometry, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.
• Lay out and fabricate metal structural parts such as plates, bulkheads, and frames.
• Compute layout dimensions, and determine and mark reference points on metal stock or workpieces for further processing, such as welding and assembly.
• Lift and position workpieces in relation to surface plates, manually or with hoists, and using parallel blocks and angle plates.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters

  $51,330 median · -6.2% projected

• Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

  $65,380 median · -5.6% projected

• Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic

  $58,000 median · -22.8% projected

• Model Makers, Metal and Plastic

  $63,340 median · -17.3% projected

• Sheet Metal Workers

  $61,800 median · +2.5% projected

• Tool and Die Makers

  $64,050 median · -9.2% projected