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

What is a polishing 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 polishing machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.25 an hour? That's $33,810 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -8% and produce -83,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePolishing Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,810

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.87%

Asian 6.04%

Black or African American 4.87%

Hispanic or Latino 14.79%

Unknown 5.43%

White 67.99%

Gender

female 11.11%

male 88.89%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a polishing machine operator

Explore polishing machine operator education requirements

Most common polishing machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

51.1 %

Associate

15.6 %

Diploma

15.6 %

Start to develop specific polishing machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Policies	40.81%
Grinding Wheels	17.75%
Machine Operation	16.00%
Safety Standards	11.27%
Stainless Steel	5.71%

Complete relevant polishing machine operator training and internships

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

Research polishing machine operator duties and responsibilities

Record statistics on ISO documentation, and coordinate with machine technicians and electrical technicians to keep machines operating at maximum efficiency.
Participate in technical support and assist validation and QA department during equipment validation.

Prepare your polishing machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your polishing 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 polishing 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 polishing machine operator resume templates

Build a professional polishing 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 polishing machine operator resume.

Apply for polishing machine operator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a polishing machine operator 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 polishing machine operators rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Polishing machine operator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

There is something new all the time ,one day your doing parts for a water pump,and the next day you could be doing parts going to Mars I did on the land,rover

Cons

If your not careful what you are doing you can put a whole order in the trash or break a brooch