How To Become A Machine Cleaner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a machine cleaner 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 machine cleaner. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.98 an hour? That's $31,150 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMachine CleanerUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,150

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.88%

Asian 4.22%

Black or African American 12.69%

Hispanic or Latino 15.29%

Unknown 4.97%

White 61.95%

Gender

female 24.00%

male 76.00%

Age - 36

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 - 36

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a machine cleaner

Explore machine cleaner education requirements

Most common machine cleaner degrees

High School Diploma

55.3 %

Associate

16.0 %

Diploma

14.0 %

Start to develop specific machine cleaner skills

Skills	Percentages
Squeegees	31.95%
Clean Machines	19.11%
GMP	13.16%
Production Equipment	10.02%
Hoists	9.42%

Complete relevant machine cleaner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New machine cleaners 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 machine cleaner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real machine cleaner resumes.

Research machine cleaner duties and responsibilities

Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
Skil in operating hoists for components that weigh more than 35 pounds.
Apply knowledge in determining the condition of parts and equipment after cleaning, including the degree of cleanliness.
Task to maintain cleanliness and decontaminate nuclear equipment and facilities to an acceptable level.

Prepare your machine cleaner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your machine cleaner 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 machine cleaner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable machine cleaner resume templates

Build a professional machine cleaner 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 machine cleaner resume.