Planer operator vs heading machine operator

The differences between planer operators and heading machine operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a planer operator has an average salary of $46,309, which is higher than the $38,675 average annual salary of a heading machine operator.

The top three skills for a planer operator include co-op, project management and supply chain. The most important skills for a heading machine operator are hand tools, production run, and CNC.

Planer operator vs heading machine operator overview

	Planer Operator	Heading Machine Operator
Yearly salary	$46,309	$38,675
Hourly rate	$22.26	$18.59
Growth rate	3%	7%
Number of jobs	28,742	59,193
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	High School Diploma, 45%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	6	-

Planer operator vs heading machine operator salary

Planer operators and heading machine operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Planer Operator	Heading Machine Operator
Average salary	$46,309	$38,675
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $66,000	Between $12,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between planer operator and heading machine operator education

There are a few differences between a planer operator and a heading machine operator in terms of educational background:

	Planer Operator	Heading Machine Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	High School Diploma, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Planer operator vs heading machine operator demographics

Here are the differences between planer operators' and heading machine operators' demographics:

	Planer Operator	Heading Machine Operator
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7%	Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 3.4% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	5%

Differences between planer operator and heading machine operator duties and responsibilities

Planer operator example responsibilities.

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Perform routine maintenance on planers -grade lumber -perform overall routine building maintenance
Establish and maintain the control environment, implementing SOX.
Track and report KPI's on a weekly basis providing.
Prepare shipping documents, material property and NDT testing reports.
Complete $10MM in purchase orders weekly for 20 suppliers and monitor performance by KPI.

Heading machine operator example responsibilities.

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Set up, run and programe CNC machining centers using set up sheets.
Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.
Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.

Planer operator vs heading machine operator skills

Common planer operator skills

Co-Op, 17%
Project Management, 16%
Supply Chain, 15%
Business Operations, 9%
Logistics, 8%
Data Analysis, 8%

Common heading machine operator skills

Hand Tools, 31%
Production RUN, 23%
CNC, 20%
Calipers, 14%
RAN, 3%
Embroidery, 2%

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Production and Manufacturing Industry
Planer Operator
Planer Operator vs Heading Machine Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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