Lath hand vs optical lathe operator

The differences between lath hands and optical lathe operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an optical lathe operator has an average salary of $40,290, which is higher than the $31,284 average annual salary of a lath hand.

The top three skills for a lath hand include cnc mill, program set-up and aerospace. The most important skills for an optical lathe operator are etching, , and .

Lath hand vs optical lathe operator overview

	Lath Hand	Optical Lathe Operator
Yearly salary	$31,284	$40,290
Hourly rate	$15.04	$19.37
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	4,171	27,565
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Lath hand vs optical lathe operator salary

Lath hands and optical lathe operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lath Hand	Optical Lathe Operator
Average salary	$31,284	$40,290
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $32,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between lath hand and optical lathe operator education

There are a few differences between a lath hand and an optical lathe operator in terms of educational background:

	Lath Hand	Optical Lathe Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Business
Most common college	-	-

Lath hand vs optical lathe operator demographics

Here are the differences between lath hands' and optical lathe operators' demographics:

	Lath Hand	Optical Lathe Operator
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%
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 lath hand and optical lathe operator duties and responsibilities

Lath hand example responsibilities.

Operate power and non-power tools to deburr after machining operations.
Polish to remove nicks and gouges.

Optical lathe operator example responsibilities.

Utilize CMS to track agents on calls.
Operate machines including lathes, cutters, shears, borers, millers, grinders, drills, jigs, heating machines.
Review the retention guidelines for compliance with destruction of archival records.
Operate Fanuc and Siemens preset programs to manufacture hubs, break drums, and wheels for semi tractor and trailers.

Lath hand vs optical lathe operator skills

Common lath hand skills

CNC Mill, 63%
Program Set-Up, 25%
Aerospace, 12%

Common optical lathe operator skills

Etching, 100%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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