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

What is a punch operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a punch operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.89 an hour? That's $33,046 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePunch OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,046

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 1.68%

Black or African American 7.93%

Hispanic or Latino 13.41%

Unknown 4.36%

White 71.84%

Gender

female 20.83%

male 79.17%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a punch operator

Explore punch operator education requirements

Most common punch operator degrees

High School Diploma

51.2 %

Bachelor's

22.1 %

Diploma

11.6 %

Start to develop specific punch operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Checks	32.25%
Calipers	18.63%
Punch Machine	15.59%
CNC	11.24%
Punch Press	7.33%

Complete relevant punch operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New punch 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 punch operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real punch operator resumes.

Research punch operator duties and responsibilities

Set up and run cnc amada turret punch presses and sharpen own tooling, and do minor adjustments to program
Operate Amada Apelio, Vipros, EMLK, FOM2 3015NT, FOM2 RI 3015 NT and Trumpf 2030.
Measure thickness of material with calipers and micrometers while sanding to keep material within allowable tolerances.
Dye setting and machine set up.

Prepare your punch operator resume

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

Build a professional punch 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 punch operator resume.