Lathe operator vs set-up operator

The differences between lathe operators and set-up operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a set-up operator has an average salary of $39,269, which is higher than the $36,280 average annual salary of a lathe operator.

The top three skills for a lathe operator include cnc lathes, micrometers and manual lathes. The most important skills for a set-up operator are calipers, cnc machines, and hand tools.

Lathe operator vs set-up operator overview

	Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Yearly salary	$36,280	$39,269
Hourly rate	$17.44	$18.88
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	45,596	55,670
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	46	43
Years of experience	-	2

Lathe operator vs set-up operator salary

Lathe operators and set-up operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Average salary	$36,280	$39,269
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $47,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Youngstown, OH	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	Ohio	New York
Best paying company	Valmont Industries	Schneider Electric Industrial Services
Best paying industry	Technology	Automotive

Differences between lathe operator and set-up operator education

There are a few differences between a lathe operator and a set-up operator in terms of educational background:

	Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Lathe operator vs set-up operator demographics

Here are the differences between lathe operators' and set-up operators' demographics:

	Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Average age	46	43
Gender ratio	Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%	Male, 85.6% Female, 14.4%
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, 4.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 6.0% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lathe operator and set-up operator duties and responsibilities

Lathe operator example responsibilities.

Operate and programme Mazak lathes.
Operate dual side Okuma lathe.
Perform SPC inpections reports for cus to meet monitoring.
Fabricate metal parts using punch press, CNC brake press.
Check parts using CMM, micrometers and other appropriate gauges.
Grind and send dog food into the extrusion for cooking.

Set-up operator example responsibilities.

Manage daily scheduling of production workload to be setup and run on machinery.
Use and replacement of drills, taps, broaches, and reamers.
Manufacture parts according to blueprints, work with stainless steel aluminum, brass and plastics.
Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders.
Use of exact measuring instruments as CMM, optical comparators, mics, bore gauges and many other tools.
Produce parts from different materials such as cold roll steel, stainless steel, no lead brass and regular brass.

Lathe operator vs set-up operator skills

Common lathe operator skills

CNC Lathes, 11%
Micrometers, 11%
Manual Lathes, 10%
Hand Tools, 9%
Calipers, 8%
Math, 6%

Common set-up operator skills

Calipers, 9%
CNC Machines, 7%
Hand Tools, 7%
Math, 6%
Quality Checks, 6%
Preventative Maintenance, 6%