Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$62,620

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$29,040 – $72,740

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

250

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-6.1%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

0

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

Perform precision assembling or adjusting, within narrow tolerances, of timing devices such as digital clocks or timing devices with electrical or electronic components.

Main tasks

• Assemble and install components of timepieces to complete mechanisms, using watchmakers' tools and loupes.
• Observe operation of timepiece parts and subassemblies to determine accuracy of movement, and to diagnose causes of defects.
• Test operation and fit of timepiece parts and subassemblies, using electronic testing equipment, tweezers, watchmakers' tools, and loupes.
• Replace specified parts to repair malfunctioning timepieces, using watchmakers' tools, loupes, and holding fixtures.
• Disassemble timepieces such as watches, clocks, and chronometers so that repairs can be made.
• Clean and lubricate timepiece parts and assemblies, using solvents, buff sticks, and oil.
• Examine components of timepieces such as watches, clocks, or chronometers for defects, using loupes or microscopes.
• Bend parts, such as hairsprings, pallets, barrel covers, and bridges, to correct deficiencies in truing or endshake, using tweezers.

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 1 programme 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.

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