Tool and Die Makers

Overview

Tool and Die Makers has a national median salary of $64,050 per year, with -9.2% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a postsecondary certificate as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists' hand tools.

Work Values

• Support
• Working Conditions
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Verify dimensions, alignments, and clearances of finished parts for conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauge blocks, micrometers, or dial indicators.
• Set up and operate conventional or computer numerically controlled machine tools such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders to cut, bore, grind, or otherwise shape parts to prescribed dimensions and finishes.
• Visualize and compute dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of assemblies, based on specifications.
• Study blueprints, sketches, models, or specifications to plan sequences of operations for fabricating tools, dies, or assemblies.
• Fit and assemble parts to make, repair, or modify dies, jigs, gauges, and tools, using machine tools, hand tools, or welders.

Work Activities

• Getting Information
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Thinking Creatively
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Detailed Work Activities

• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
• Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a postsecondary certificate as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a postsecondary certificate.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Tool and Die Makers:

Video Resources