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IndustryArena Forum > Events, Product Announcements Etc > Polls > What is the average hourly pay for cnc operators in your state

View Poll Results: What is the average hourly pay for CNC operators in your area?

Voters
749. You may not vote on this poll
  • $10.00/$14.00

    153 20.43%
  • $14.00/$16.00

    128 17.09%
  • $16.00/$18.00

    121 16.15%
  • $18.00/$20.00

    114 15.22%
  • $20.00/$24.00

    94 12.55%
  • $24.00 and up

    139 18.56%
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Results 1 to 20 of 276
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    35

    What is the average hourly pay for cnc operators in your state

    Louisiana:
    Texas:
    Northern States:

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    19

    Angry

    4 dollars/hour,40 dollars/day.China
    I can not believe that...But this is the highest CNC operater salary in China

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    1
    Here in Sacramento CA operators (parts changers) make 12-16/hr

    I'm the lead programmer/setup guy for 10 cnc's in 3 departments and I'm making 32/hr. I make more than the average around here because we machine green/fired ceramics. Its a constant battle with these machines and this material. I replace screws and ways every 2-6 months.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    78
    Here in the Northern Idaho a CNC operator that can use a Good setup sheet and perform a basic setup to include TLO and multi-fixture offset, and protect your machinery will bring the 10.00-14.00/Hr. They may even be able to check there own work and make some inteligent decisions!
    CNC machinist with good milling and turning capabilities, tooling and planning abilities coupled with inspection plate skills will bring 16.00-20.00+/Hr.
    But WHERE ARE THEY. As a productions manager for a small OEM it is frustrating not to find the skill level I need to produce parts I need for our product. I have seen over the past 15 yrs an alarming decline in the skilled trade of the machinist! Atleast here in the Pacific Northwest. Anyone ELSE?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Cartesian-xyz View Post
    Here in the Northern Idaho a CNC operator that can use a Good setup sheet and perform a basic setup to include TLO and multi-fixture offset, and protect your machinery will bring the 10.00-14.00/Hr. They may even be able to check there own work and make some inteligent decisions!
    CNC machinist with good milling and turning capabilities, tooling and planning abilities coupled with inspection plate skills will bring 16.00-20.00+/Hr.
    But WHERE ARE THEY. As a productions manager for a small OEM it is frustrating not to find the skill level I need to produce parts I need for our product. I have seen over the past 15 yrs an alarming decline in the skilled trade of the machinist! Atleast here in the Pacific Northwest. Anyone ELSE?
    Ps: The reason there are no machinists is because they cant live on 16-20 dollars (1975 wages) and raise a family (at least here in Toronto Ontario Canada ) so why would a young person train half their life for said occupation> It not hard to figure out. Pay for the experience and its there, respect those that have spent their time in the trade and see the what they will do for you.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    60
    Hi Guys,

    We have the same problem here in the UK - most operators will get £5 to 7 pounds an hour unskilled, yet companies only want to pay around £9.00 for a skilled man to set/run/program several m/c's.
    very few companies pay what i consider a good rate, around £15.00( $30 US ) to thier machinists, yet these same people bemoan the fact no one will work for them.

    ST

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    339
    I used to teach Machine Tool at the Job Corps Center in Bangor, Maine and the biggest problem I found placing graduating students was the lack of positions for Machinists in the North East. Lots of Manufacturing jobs have gone overseas to cheaper labor. So if you can't find a job in that field then why waste the time to learn the Trade. Wages there fore have become stagnant in the Machining Trades. Employers don't want to pay good wages but yet they expect you to know the Machinist Hand Book.
    We that can do it all (by that I mean figuring out how to manufacture a product) are becoming RARE and will continue to do so till we are all gone. We are already seeing 80% of all toys in the US are produced in China. That's pretty sad......but see what it is they give us?? JUNK JUNK JUNK
    I purchased a set of brake pads for my GMC pickup and decided to go with the economy ones. The Burrs that remained on the parts were so big they wouldn't even fit. I had to file the parts to get them to work. So see, it is true. You get what you pay for.... The Machinist there is only getting $4.00 hr. but the company is getting just what they are paying for.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    12177
    Quote Originally Posted by Boots View Post
    .....Lots of Manufacturing jobs have gone overseas to cheaper labor..........but see what it is they give us?? JUNK JUNK JUNK.....

    I purchased a set of brake pads for my GMC pickup and decided to go with the economy ones.....
    Not to pick on you personally because everybody is guilty of it, me included, going for the "economy ones".

    The Manufacturing jobs have not gone overseas they have been "chased" overseas by us all going for the cheapest price regardless of quality.
    An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.

  9. #9
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    Aug 2007
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    339
    You are so right there Geof. We all try to cut corners where we can. If we refused to buy their stuff maybe the jobs would come back ??

  10. #10
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    Jul 2005
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    12177
    Quote Originally Posted by Boots View Post
    You are so right there Geof. We all try to cut corners where we can. If we refused to buy their stuff maybe the jobs would come back ??
    Now that is the 64,000 dollar question; or is it the 6,400 dollar question these days with cheap off-shore competition .

    I think the answer is no, not directly, and it may be nothing can be done, certainly not in the short term. In the long term I think that what will be unavoidable is that overseas, particularly Chinese, manufacturing costs will rise meanwhile things in North America (there is not much sense in distinguishing between Canada and the USA) will slide until the difference is not large enough to compensate for shipping costs and waiting times for delivery and the hassle of making sure the quality is correct. Then jobs will start coming back. However, the kicker in this is "things will slide"; I think we, in North America, are going to see our very high prosperity relative to the rest of the world come down in real terms as well as relative terms. I don't think anyone is going to like that but I don't think anything can be done to prevent it.
    An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    3
    I,m in MI and am getting $21 an hr,but I go from print to part. We make prototype plastic parts,therefore I guess I,m a mold maker. I do all the cadcam and programing,everything. From idea to part.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    77
    Quote Originally Posted by Cartesian-xyz View Post
    CNC machinist with good milling and turning capabilities, tooling and planning abilities coupled with inspection plate skills will bring 16.00-20.00+/Hr.
    But WHERE ARE THEY. As a productions manager for a small OEM it is frustrating not to find the skill level I need to produce parts I need for our product. I have seen over the past 15 yrs an alarming decline in the skilled trade of the machinist! Atleast here in the Pacific Northwest. Anyone ELSE?

    Try paying a reasonable wage then. As a skilled machinist with many years experience who makes twice what your top of scale is, I can say that your problem is not a small pool of skilled people, it is the small wage you are willing to pay. By the way, I am in the Pacific Northwest. I want to live in Northeastern Washington, Northern Idaho or Northwestern Montana. I have worked as a Machinist lathe/mill/grind/5 axis, Programmer, Inspector, Planner and Process Engineer. I am the guy you are looking for, but there is no way someone with my skills and experience wants to work for what you are willing to pay. Not to mention that you have a State income tax which makes your low offer even lower. If you want people, you have to be willing to pay for them, especially in an environment where everyone is screaming for machinists. The shop I am in now is paying operators who have been through our 6 week course of training $23.00. So why would any skilled people even want to work for your low wage? Your message makes it sound like you think $20/hr. is a lot of money. It isn't. not now. Maybe after 9/11 but not now. There are lots of skilled people in the job pool. There are also lots of jobs. The salad days of underpaying for labor are, for the forseeable future, gone. So, trade in the Mercedes on a Chevy and start paying people.

    Barry Young

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    1468
    I've said it time and time again- pay peanuts and you get monkeys.

    I'm on about £13 per hour (which here in the Manchester, UK is STILL not enough to buy a house).

    As an aside, I CAD/CAM, setup, run and inspect everything- as a previous poster said- from concept straight through to delivery and follow up. I'm a member of the Chartered Quality Institute and have over 25 years experience in my field.

    Now... here's a thing worth considering- even at this wage level (which is off your scale), our company had to advertise nationaly for over SIX MONTHS before getting someone (me) to fill the position.

    I beleive the skill base has been eroded to such an extent that it simply is not there anymore. The optical skills I learned during my apprenticeship were taught by guys who, by age, should have been retired- they were only working because no- one else had the skills. They had forgotten more stuff than I could ever learn, but I picked up so much off them and now... there's no- one to pass this knowledge on to. It will die with me I spose, which is a bit sad really.

    One other thing while I'm on the soap box- I have mates here in the UK who have never worked a day in their lives. The State gives them money every two weeks, pays for their council house rent, their council tax etc etc. When you consider I'm paying over 500 quid a month rent and utilities etc when you factor everything in to consideration they are actualy earning MORE than me.

    I couldn't do that though, but it is annoying when you come home from a hard days work, covered in oil, chips and a head full of maths to see them sat in their garden slugging beers and smoking *cough* stuff... for free.

    But then again, I can see their point- why work when they can get it for free. You may not beleive me, but I know of at least one person who had another kid purlely cos she would get more money off the State (serious).
    I love deadlines- I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    60
    ImanCarrot -

    Yes i agree, the engineering skills base has been virtually destroyed in the UK

    ST

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1
    In my part of the state, Kenosha, WI, the truck drivers make more than I do. Currently $17/hr USD to CAD/CAM program two CNC's in two different manufacturing environments. (Biesse Rover for our Cabinet Dept. and a Park Industries Destiny for our Granite Dept.) The company thinks they are paying me top dollar at that! It's $4/ gallon for milk and $3/ gallon for gas! There seems to be no respect for education these days.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    4
    In my view a CNC Operator is a "button pusher". Button pusher's wages go from slightly above Minimum Wage to about $14/hr max. IMHO, they are not worth that much. You can train a monkey to be an Operator.
    JM2C

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    118
    Quote Originally Posted by Geof View Post
    Not to pick on you personally because everybody is guilty of it, me included, going for the "economy ones".

    The Manufacturing jobs have not gone overseas they have been "chased" overseas by us all going for the cheapest price regardless of quality.
    More like they have been sold to the lowest bidder in the name of trying to pad the pockets of the uncaring uneducated politition. And big biz. Manufacturing is what made this country what it is today but people think "Oh, I'm getting such a good deal on this widgit from wal-mart, that I don't have to think sbout MY job." Remember when Wal-mart USED to have signs saying " 50-250 Jobs created by us selling this product." I would bet anyone a crisp $1.00 (Could afford more but can't due to outsouarsing) to anyone who could walk down any iasle in W.M. and pick up any two products that are made in the U.S.
    Believe me when I tell you that I stand elbow to elbow with all my fellow tradesman in this. But I fear that like many times the troops in the field pay the price when the millitary intelligence make a fatal judgement call. I would also enjoy a larger paycheck. BuT seriously doubt that with all thing going on here will allow it.:drowning:

    Sorry about all my typos,(Temporarily blinded due to :AAAAGGGhhhhhh)

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    4396
    Quote Originally Posted by Geof View Post
    Not to pick on you personally because everybody is guilty of it, me included, going for the "economy ones".

    The Manufacturing jobs have not gone overseas they have been "chased" overseas by us all going for the cheapest price regardless of quality.
    This is all too true and we are to blame for this because everyone wants more for less .

    BTW: Does this Question mean "CNC Machinists" or "CNC Operators", because there is a HUGE Difference.
    Toby D.
    "Imagination and Memory are but one thing, but for divers considerations have divers names"
    Schwarzwald

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)

    www.refractotech.com

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    12
    in Bosnia 1,5/h

  20. #20
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    Aug 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by tobyaxis View Post
    This is all too true and we are to blame for this because everyone wants more for less .

    BTW: Does this Question mean "CNC Machinists" or "CNC Operators", because there is a HUGE Difference.
    THE POLL SAYS OPERATERS , I FIGURE THAT MAENS BUTTON PUSHERS, BUTTON PUSHERS HERE MAKE AROUND 12 WITH 2 YEARS EXPERIANCE PUSHING BUTTONS,AND YOU CAN'T GET A JOB PUSHING BUTTONS WITH OUT THE EXPERIANCE. NOW CNC PROGRAMMERS START AT 14 AND GOES UP FROM THERE LOOKS LIKE IT TOPS AROUND 20 , in cincinnati,ohio

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