Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
US occupation · SOC 51-4194
Job titles people report: Crankshaft Grinder, Cutter Grind Tool Technician (Cutter Grind Tool Tech), Cutter Grinder, Grinder, Grinder Operator, OD Grinder Operator (Outer Diameter Grinder Operator), Polisher, Saw Filer, Tool and Cutter Grinder, Tool Grinder
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $50,060
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $40,800 – $62,150
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 5,600
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -6.8%
- 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
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
Main tasks
- Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
- Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
- Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.
- Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
- Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.
- Remove finished workpieces from machines and place them in boxes or on racks, setting aside pieces that are defective.
- Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.
- Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.
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.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
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.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Precision Production
- Machine Shop Technology/Assistant
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$46,550 median · -10.8% projected
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$52,800 median · -13.2% projected
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
$43,380 median · -2.5% projected
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$50,620 median · -11.3% projected
- Tool and Die Makers
$64,050 median · -9.2% projected
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$47,180 median · +0.6% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk