What is a General Machine Operator?
The average general machine operator salary is $32,414. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes zero years of experience to become a general machine operator. General machine operators with a OSHA Safety Certificate certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 32,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a General Machine Operator Do
There are certain skills that many general machine operators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, coordination and visual ability.
How To Become a General Machine Operator
If you're interested in becoming a general machine operator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 9.0% of general machine operators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.6% of general machine operators have master's degrees. Even though some general machine operators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
General Machine Operator Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of machine operator you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title production supervisor.
Average Salary for a General Machine Operator
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of General Machine Operator
There are several types of general machine operator, including:
Machine Operator
Role:
Some machine operators need training in order to operate certain machinery such as cranes and excavators. The hours you work as a machine operator can vary, but often include overtime, night shifts, and weekend shifts.
As a machine operator, you have lots of industries you could go into, from warehousing and storage to food manufacturing and construction. The list goes on and on. Depending on the industry, your work can take you outside or you may get to work inside.
- Average Salary: $32,874
- Degree: High School Diploma
Assembling Machine Operator
Role:
However, they do not usually need a college degree. In fact, most assembling machine operators only have a high school diploma.
Assembling machine operators usually learn how to operate their machines through on-the-job training. It helps if they have a few years of mechanical experience before that in order to have a basic grasp of factory work. Once they are trained, assembling machine operators can earn an average salary of $24,568 a year.
- Average Salary: $31,275
- Degree: High School Diploma
Line Operator
Role:
Working in several shifts to optimize production rates, line operators are not required to have higher education. They are usually trained on-site for the role they are hired for and take it from there.
Physical stamina and being agile and dexterous will be skills that make your day easier, as well as an ability to endure monotonous activities and a loud environment.
- Average Salary: $34,520
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most General Machine Operator Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active general machine operator jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where general machine operators earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of General Machine Operator Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 5,918 | $31,668 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 2,670 | $34,032 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 2,036 | $31,695 |
| 4 | New York | 1,972 | $32,728 |
| 5 | New Jersey | 1,599 | $30,895 |
| 6 | Ohio | 1,374 | $32,894 |
| 7 | Illinois | 1,159 | $32,454 |
| 8 | Texas | 1,143 | $28,163 |
| 9 | Washington | 1,081 | $35,538 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 1,061 | $36,679 |
| 11 | Maryland | 947 | $32,172 |
| 12 | Georgia | 926 | $27,314 |
| 13 | Indiana | 894 | $33,148 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 886 | $29,454 |
| 15 | Florida | 852 | $26,927 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 828 | $34,859 |
| 17 | Oregon | 752 | $34,384 |
| 18 | Michigan | 717 | $31,957 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 664 | $25,457 |
| 20 | Connecticut | 592 | $31,694 |
| 21 | Missouri | 521 | $31,917 |
| 22 | Iowa | 434 | $31,171 |
| 23 | Nebraska | 433 | $28,634 |
| 24 | Virginia | 428 | $27,276 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | 397 | $31,961 |
| 26 | Kentucky | 373 | $30,499 |
| 27 | Arizona | 369 | $28,997 |
| 28 | South Carolina | 346 | $31,207 |
| 29 | Alabama | 315 | $23,570 |
| 30 | Utah | 305 | $31,000 |
| 31 | Colorado | 299 | $30,978 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | 280 | $34,257 |
| 33 | Maine | 271 | $35,129 |
| 34 | Idaho | 266 | $32,547 |
| 35 | Kansas | 227 | $36,062 |
| 36 | Delaware | 209 | $32,218 |
| 37 | Alaska | 195 | $30,909 |
| 38 | Arkansas | 189 | $26,834 |
| 39 | Mississippi | 154 | $28,083 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 143 | $35,032 |
| 41 | South Dakota | 143 | $30,919 |
| 42 | Nevada | 122 | $30,039 |
| 43 | Louisiana | 120 | $25,150 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | 108 | $24,602 |
| 45 | Vermont | 103 | $32,022 |
| 46 | Hawaii | 82 | $33,188 |
| 47 | West Virginia | 61 | $26,886 |
| 48 | New Mexico | 45 | $28,166 |
| 49 | Montana | 43 | $27,642 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 14 | $19,138 |
Top Skills For a General Machine Operator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.0% of general machine operators listed math on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and coordination are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable General Machine Operator Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use General Machine Operator templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your General Machine Operator resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
General Machine Operator Demographics
General Machine Operator Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among general machine operators, 18.8% of them are women, while 81.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among general machine operators is White, which makes up 61.0% of all general machine operators.
- The most common foreign language among general machine operators is Spanish at 66.7%.
Online Courses For General Machine Operator That You May Like
1. Leading Healthcare Quality and Safety
Ensuring patient safety and healthcare quality is critical and should be a key focus of everyone in healthcare practice. This course provides healthcare practitioners and others with an introduction to the knowledge and skills needed to lead patient safety and quality improvement initiatives at the micro and macro levels. Participants will explore the foundations of health care quality and the science underlying patient safety and quality improvement, design and select effective health care...
See More on Coursera2. OSHA Workplace Safety (General Industry 6 Hr Class)
Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...
See More on Udemy3. OSHA Safety Pro: Personal Protective Equipment
Impress management or get that job with you your ability to display life and dollar saving work place safety practices...
See More on UdemyBest States For a General Machine Operator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a general machine operator. The best states for people in this position are Wisconsin, Kansas, Washington, and Maine. General machine operators make the most in Wisconsin with an average salary of $36,679. Whereas in Kansas and Washington, they would average $36,062 and $35,538, respectively. While general machine operators would only make an average of $35,129 in Maine, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Wisconsin
$36,679
Avg. Salary
2. Maine
$35,129
Avg. Salary
3. Pennsylvania
$34,032
Avg. Salary
How Do General Machine Operator Rate Their Jobs?
Top General Machine Operator Employers
Most Common Employers For General Machine Operator
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cargill | $40,179 | $19.32 | 10 |
| 2 | Rich Products | $39,938 | $19.20 | 5 |
| 3 | The Kraft Heinz Company | $36,652 | $17.62 | 6 |
| 4 | Rolls-Royce | $36,451 | $17.52 | 8 |
| 5 | International Paper | $35,842 | $17.23 | 6 |
| 6 | Tyson Foods | $35,408 | $17.02 | 13 |
| 7 | Sandvik Coromant | $35,111 | $16.88 | 6 |
| 8 | PLI | $34,957 | $16.81 | 23 |
| 9 | Kohler Co. | $34,833 | $16.75 | 5 |
| 10 | Remedy Intelligent Staffing | $33,657 | $16.18 | 10 |
General Machine Operator Videos
