How To Become A Manual Lathe Machinist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a manual lathe machinist 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 manual lathe machinist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.23 an hour? That's $42,070 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 3,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreManual Lathe MachinistUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,070

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 6.29%

Black or African American 3.93%

Hispanic or Latino 14.50%

Unknown 3.73%

White 71.05%

Gender

female 4.17%

male 95.83%

Age - 49

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 - 49

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a manual lathe machinist

Explore manual lathe machinist education requirements

Most common manual lathe machinist degrees

High School Diploma

48.2 %

Diploma

17.9 %

Bachelor's

14.3 %

Start to develop specific manual lathe machinist skills

Skills	Percentages
Manual Lathes	16.34%
Hand Tools	12.93%
Calipers	12.32%
Grinders	11.60%
Machine Tools	10.38%

Complete relevant manual lathe machinist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New manual lathe machinists 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 manual lathe machinist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real manual lathe machinist resumes.

Research manual lathe machinist duties and responsibilities

Manage and perform programming of CNC mills, lathes and EDM equipment, instrumentation, data acquisition and control systems.
Set up and run material 2 1/2"to 30"O.D.
surface grinders and large VMC.
Operate lathes, mills, shapers and grinders.

Prepare your manual lathe machinist resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable manual lathe machinist resume templates

Build a professional manual lathe machinist 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 manual lathe machinist resume.

Apply for manual lathe machinist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a manual lathe machinist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do manual lathe machinists rate their job?

-/5

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Manual lathe machinist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Pros

I work for RSI silicon I loved that l I was able to start from the beginning with the raw materials and work the whole process and I really Joyed that and I actually made pure silicon metal right out of the furnace 99.999% it was no need to do acid wash afterwards it was Soler grade right from the start