How To Become A Hand Finisher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hand finisher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a hand finisher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.73 an hour? That's $32,723 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHand FinisherUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,723

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.3

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 4.24%

Black or African American 7.74%

Hispanic or Latino 21.59%

Unknown 3.99%

White 61.59%

Gender

female 28.21%

male 71.79%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

4.3

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hand finisher

Explore hand finisher education requirements

Most common hand finisher degrees

High School Diploma

39.4 %

Associate

26.8 %

Bachelor's

14.8 %

Start to develop specific hand finisher skills

Skills	Percentages
Deburr	37.62%
Hand Tools	17.93%
Calipers	8.65%
Grinders	7.53%
CNC	5.89%

Complete relevant hand finisher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hand finishers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hand finisher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hand finisher resumes.

Research hand finisher duties and responsibilities

Measure tolerances for cnc and hand finishing work.
Flatten and straighten parts to templates and jigs.
Hand port and finish CNC port machine cylinder heads.
Measure and inspect parts with calipers, scales, and micrometers.

Prepare your hand finisher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hand finisher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hand finisher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable hand finisher resume templates

Build a professional hand finisher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hand finisher resume.