Gear cutter vs engine lathe operator

The differences between gear cutters and engine lathe operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a gear cutter has an average salary of $41,190, which is higher than the $39,664 average annual salary of an engine lathe operator.

The top three skills for a gear cutter include cnc machines, barber-coleman and calipers. The most important skills for an engine lathe operator are engine lathes, RAN, and .

Gear cutter vs engine lathe operator overview

	Gear Cutter	Engine Lathe Operator
Yearly salary	$41,190	$39,664
Hourly rate	$19.80	$19.07
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	4,528	27,999
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 60%	Associate Degree, 42%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Gear cutter vs engine lathe operator salary

Gear cutters and engine lathe operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Gear Cutter	Engine Lathe Operator
Average salary	$41,190	$39,664
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $61,000	Between $32,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between gear cutter and engine lathe operator education

There are a few differences between a gear cutter and an engine lathe operator in terms of educational background:

	Gear Cutter	Engine Lathe Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 60%	Associate Degree, 42%
Most common major	Manufacturing Engineering	Agricultural Mechanization
Most common college	-	-

Gear cutter vs engine lathe operator demographics

Here are the differences between gear cutters' and engine lathe operators' demographics:

	Gear Cutter	Engine Lathe Operator
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9%	Male, 98.0% Female, 2.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 77.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 77.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between gear cutter and engine lathe operator duties and responsibilities

Gear cutter example responsibilities.

Work operating equipment including gear generators such as gear grinders, shapers and hobbing machines and manual OD grinders.
Set machine up to run different parts.
Operate the machines in the CVT department.
Advise management on CMM probes and sizes that would be applicable to their needs.
Utilize Gleason gear testers to check gear patterns and a Zeiss CMM to obtain corrections to input into the FANUC controls.
Calculate dimensions and tolerances using knowledge of mathematics and instruments such as micrometers and veneer calipers.

Engine lathe operator example responsibilities.

Operate machines including lathes, cutters, shears, borers, millers, grinders, drills, jigs, heating machines.
Operate heavy duty lathes, boring machines and mills, planers, shapers and grinders.

Gear cutter vs engine lathe operator skills

Common gear cutter skills

CNC Machines, 49%
Barber-Coleman, 24%
Calipers, 20%
RUN, 7%

Common engine lathe operator skills

Engine Lathes, 71%
RAN, 29%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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