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

What is a making machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a making machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.69 an hour? That's $36,805 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMaking Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,805

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.7

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 9.10%

Black or African American 9.73%

Hispanic or Latino 11.05%

Unknown 4.49%

White 64.80%

Gender

female 24.05%

male 75.95%

Age - 51

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 - 51

Stress level

4.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a making machine operator

Explore making machine operator education requirements

Most common making machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

66.1 %

Bachelor's

11.9 %

Associate

11.9 %

Start to develop specific making machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
CNC	55.12%
HMI	21.48%
Safety Protocol	10.57%
Assembly Line	7.97%
Customer Orders	4.87%

Complete relevant making machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New making machine operators 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 making machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real making machine operator resumes.

Research making machine operator duties and responsibilities

Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.
Record statistics on ISO documentation, and coordinate with machine technicians and electrical technicians to keep machines operating at maximum efficiency.

Prepare your making machine operator resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable making machine operator resume templates

Build a professional making machine operator 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 making machine operator resume.