How To Become A Polisher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a polisher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Polishers add the finishing touches on a piece or finished project to smooth out any imperfections, finalize its shape so that it meets the blueprint, and make it look nice. Polishers can work in many fields, from jewelry making to glassmaking to car manufacturing, and wherever there are metal parts that need to be smoothed out. Good polishers can earn up to $28,282 a year.

Although people think polishers spend their day with a cloth and some polishing powder, professional polishing involves many more complicated tools than polishing silverware at home. Polishers often use industrial tools like grinders and even CNC machines that are computer-controlled cutting machines to do their job.

The skills needed to be an excellent polisher are usually not learned in a classroom. In fact, most polishers do not have a bachelor's degree. Polishers need to know how to operate industrial equipment, follow safety regulations, and read blueprints or designs in order to do their work. These are all skills that are usually taught on the job.

ScorePolisherUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,461

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.03%

Asian 2.68%

Black or African American 7.22%

Hispanic or Latino 14.85%

Unknown 4.74%

White 69.48%

Gender

female 14.55%

male 85.45%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a polisher

Explore polisher education requirements

Most common polisher degrees

High School Diploma

56.4 %

Associate

14.2 %

Diploma

12.9 %

Start to develop specific polisher skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	30.65%
Calipers	10.92%
Polishers	6.08%
CNC	5.84%
PPE	4.98%

Complete relevant polisher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New polishers 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 polisher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real polisher resumes.

Research polisher duties and responsibilities

Train and instruct other polishers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Gain experience with CNC machines.
Operate CNC grinders and milling machines.
Polish custom glass, run polishing machine.

Prepare your polisher resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable polisher resume templates

Build a professional polisher 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 polisher resume.