Outside machinist vs machinist apprentice

The differences between outside machinists and machinist apprentices can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an outside machinist and a machinist apprentice. Additionally, an outside machinist has an average salary of $42,858, which is higher than the $37,681 average annual salary of a machinist apprentice.

The top three skills for an outside machinist include hand tools, calipers and condensers. The most important skills for a machinist apprentice are cnc lathes, grinders, and hand tools.

Outside machinist vs machinist apprentice overview

	Outside Machinist	Machinist Apprentice
Yearly salary	$42,858	$37,681
Hourly rate	$20.60	$18.12
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	24,075	21,288
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Outside machinist vs machinist apprentice salary

Outside machinists and machinist apprentices have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Machinist	Machinist Apprentice
Average salary	$42,858	$37,681
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $57,000	Between $30,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Bremerton, WA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Oceaneering	-
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between outside machinist and machinist apprentice education

There are a few differences between an outside machinist and a machinist apprentice in terms of educational background:

	Outside Machinist	Machinist Apprentice
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Outside machinist vs machinist apprentice demographics

Here are the differences between outside machinists' and machinist apprentices' demographics:

	Outside Machinist	Machinist Apprentice
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 94.9% Female, 5.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 6.7% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between outside machinist and machinist apprentice duties and responsibilities

Outside machinist example responsibilities.

Manage other employees to ensure members' needs are met and operations run smoothly.
Operate winches, hoists, indoor cranes, and hydraulic equipment.
Machine types: Haas and Okuma ,
Observe safety procedures and maintain safe work area in accordance with OSHA guidelines.
Manufacture and repair shipyard equipment with hydraulic automatic saws, radial drills and surface grinders.
Install and align condensers, compressors, pumps, force draft blowers, main feed pumps, and various valves.

Machinist apprentice example responsibilities.

Design and construct intricate EDM electrodes.
Set up and operate Mazak machining centers.
Work with manual lathe, mill and EDM to repair parts for production.
Set up and operate CNC and manual machining equipment for high precision aerospace components.
Develop various forms and procedures to assure the machine shop are operating effectively and maintaining ISO certification.
Use blueprints to create molds using stick and tig welders.

Outside machinist vs machinist apprentice skills

Common outside machinist skills

Hand Tools, 15%
Calipers, 8%
Condensers, 6%
Shipyard, 5%
Evaporators, 5%
Ladders, 4%

Common machinist apprentice skills

CNC Lathes, 23%
Grinders, 10%
Hand Tools, 7%
Calipers, 7%
Math, 5%
Drill Press, 4%

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Outside Machinist
Outside Machinist vs Machinist Apprentice

Updated January 8, 2025

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