Cutters and Trimmers, Hand: Salary, Job Outlook & How to Become One (2026 Parent Guide)
Production · SOC 51-9031 · O*NET 51-9031.00
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand fall under the Production category in the U.S. occupational classification. Cutters and Trimmers, Hand earn a median salary of $38,800 per year, ranking in the top 87% of all U.S. occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects -18.1% job growth through 2034, projected to lose jobs through 2034. Entry into this field typically requires an apprenticeship, technical certification, or postsecondary training, with specific licensing or certification depending on the state and employer. For parents whose teenager is exploring this path, the most actionable step is mapping the education requirements to specific colleges and majors before junior year — not waiting until application season.
What do cutters and trimmers, hand earn?
The median annual wage for cutters and trimmers, hand is $38,800. That puts cutters and trimmers, hand at #707 on the BLS ranked list of all U.S. occupations by median pay. This salary is around or below the U.S. median for individual workers, so career growth often depends on advancement into supervisory roles, specialization, or additional credentials. Actual pay varies meaningfully by state, employer type, and years of experience — entry-level salaries are typically 30–40% below the median, while top-decile earners often exceed it by 50% or more.
| 10th percentile (entry-level) | $29,910 |
| 25th percentile | $33,860 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $38,800 |
| 75th percentile | $48,790 |
| 90th percentile (top earners) | $57,820 |
| Median hourly wage | $18.65/hr |
Is cutters and trimmers, hand a growing career?
The 10-year outlook for cutters and trimmers, hand is -18.1%, projected to lose jobs through 2034. Employment is projected to move from approximately 7K positions in 2024 to 5K in 2034, a net change of -2K. A declining outlook does not mean the field is disappearing; it means automation, demographics, or substitution effects are shrinking the pool of openings. Students entering a declining field should plan for adjacent skills that transfer to growing roles.
What do cutters and trimmers, hand do every day?
According to O*NET task surveys of working cutters and trimmers, hand, these are the core responsibilities most professionals perform. This is what your teen would actually be doing in this role.
- 1.Replace or sharpen dulled cutting tools such as saws.
- 2.Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.
- 3.Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
- 4.Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
- 5.Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
- 6.Fold or shape materials before or after cutting them.
- 7.Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
- 8.Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
Top skills for cutters and trimmers, hand
O*NET ranks these as the most important skills for this occupation, on a 1–5 importance scale derived from worker surveys.
What education does my child need to become cutters and trimmers, hand?
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand typically enter the field through a formal apprenticeship, technical certification, or vocational training program — a strong fit for teens who prefer hands-on learning over traditional college. For parents helping a teen prepare, the highest-leverage step before junior year is identifying colleges and programs that feed reliably into this occupation — Solyo's college search lets parents filter by major and admissions data side by side.
Based on O*NET surveys of incumbents — what people in this job actually have, not what employers list as required.
Related careers your child might also consider
How parents help teens explore careers like this
Solyo helps parents map a teen's interests to specific careers, then back to the colleges and majors that lead there. Salary, outlook, and education data come from BLS and O*NET — the same sources high school counselors use — but presented for the parent's planning lens, not the student's exploration view.
Common questions parents ask about cutters and trimmers, hand
What is the median salary for cutters and trimmers, hand?
The median annual salary for cutters and trimmers, hand is $38,800 according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Is cutters and trimmers, hand a growing career?
BLS projects -18.1% growth for cutters and trimmers, hand from 2024 through 2034, which is declining growth projected to lose jobs through 2034.
What education does my child need to become cutters and trimmers, hand?
The typical entry path requires an apprenticeship, technical certification, or postsecondary training, plus any state licensure or certification specific to the role. Programs that align well with this career can be filtered inside Solyo's college search.
What careers are similar to cutters and trimmers, hand?
Related occupations within the Production category share education paths and skill profiles, so they're a useful starting set when a teen is uncertain. The "Related careers" section below lists nearby options.
Salary data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics program. Skills, tasks, and education distribution from the O*NET database. Job outlook from the BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 release.