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Tool and die designer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, tool and die designers don't need a college education. The most common degree for tool and die designers is associate degree with 41% graduates, with only 21% tool and die designer graduates earning high school diploma. Tool and die designers who decided to graduate from college often finish Jackson College or Henry Ford College. Some good skills to have in this position include jigs, machine tools and hand tools.

What education do you need to become a tool and die designer?

What degree do you need to be a tool and die designer?

The most common degree for tool and die designers is associate degree, with 41% of tool and die designers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 21% and high school diploma degree at 16%.
  • Associate, 41%
  • High School Diploma, 21%
  • Bachelor's, 16%
  • Diploma, 11%
  • Other Degrees, 11%

What should I major in to become a tool and die designer?

You should major in precision metal working to become a tool and die designer. 23% of tool and die designers major in precision metal working. Other common majors for a tool and die designer include drafting and design and mechanical engineering.

Best majors for tool and die designers

20 best online courses for tool and die designers

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1. Rapid Prototyping and Tooling

coursera

In the Rapid Prototyping and Tooling specialization, students learn how to make effective prototypes. Why is rapid prototyping important, and how does it facilitate the overall engineering design process? At what point in the process should rapid prototyping be employed? How can electronics bring a prototype to the next level? When is it appropriate to make a prototype out of cardboard rather than aluminum? When should you use 3D printing instead of a laser cutter? Real examples provide answers...

2. Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design and Manufacturing with Fusion 360

coursera

Design for manufacturing is the process of designing parts, components, or products with the understanding surrounding design requirements for a specific manufacturing method. This course explores the design for manufacture workflow and shows how to validate models and create the G code, the programming language needed to instruct the CNC machine on how to move. We practice the basics of part and assembly design, and tools such as animation, rendering, and simulations using Autodesk Fusion 360...

3. Learning SOLIDWORKS: For Students, Engineers, and Designers

udemy
4.4
(2,712)

For Basic and Intermediate Users...

4. Introduction to SOLIDWORKS

udemy
4.6
(1,147)

Learn the fundamentals of SOLIDWORKS engineering and design software including parts, drawings, and assemblies...

5. Engineering and Product Design Processes

coursera

Welcome to “Engineering and Product Design Processes!” In this short course, you will learn how engineering design processes and product design processes are carried out. After the course, you will be familiar with the steps in both design processes. You will also be familiar with the main goal of each design process, as well as their similarities and differences...

6. Software Design Methods and Tools

coursera

Since many software developers are compulsive coders, they have created software over the years to help them do their job. There are tools which make design and its associated tasks easier. The course introduces some basic tools and techniques to help you with design. Tools aren’t always tangible, however. The last two lessons of this course discuss questions of Ethics in software development. The purpose here is, as with tools, to equip you to better carry our your responsibilities as a...

7. Mechanical design and Product development process

udemy
4.2
(604)

Learn the basic ideas and concepts behind developing mechanical products related to mechanical engineering...

8. Master Solidworks 2015 - 3D CAD using real-world examples

udemy
4.2
(388)

Learn how to master Solidworks 3D CAD modelling for any use, from 3D printing to professional product design!...

9. Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing

coursera

Designing the customer and user experience is essential to creating great products today. Gone is the old paradigm of “form follows function” model of design. The process must be iterative and follow the best product design and development processes. While designing a great user experience can be a lengthy and expensive process, there are approaches to doing it faster and smarter, without compromising results. This essential product management course explains key design thinking principles...

10. Sound and Sonification Design for Interactive Learning Tools

coursera

Designing sound representations of information can be a complex, but necessary part of engaging students and making material accessible to a larger group of learners. While advances in these tools (e.g., interactive simulations) have made many freely available to millions of STEM students and classrooms around the world, their reliance on visual-only representations makes it difficult for diverse groups of students to access the content. In this course we will introduce you to sound and sound...

11. Adobe XD UI/UX Design, prototype, and handoff from scratch

udemy
4.5
(2,182)

Learn how to design and prototype apps and webpages using Adobe XD...

12. Fusion 360 CAD/CAM for CNC routers

udemy
4.5
(397)

Make any part using your CNC router with Fusion 360...

13. CNC Milling machine programming using G-Code

udemy
4.7
(331)

Learning to read and write CNC programs with FANUC G Code has never been so easy...

14. Master Solidworks 2018 - 3D CAD using real-world examples

udemy
4.3
(1,615)

The 2018 version of the bestselling Solidworks 3D CAD course - learn modelling for any use, from 3D printing to pro use!...

15. Master SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD using real-world examples

udemy
4.8
(928)

The 2021 version of the bestselling Solidworks 3D CAD course - learn modelling for any use, from 3D printing to pro use!...

16. Pro Engineer Creo Fundamental 3D design course

udemy
4.3
(1,044)

Learn fundamentals of creo parametric from scratch including part design,drawing,assembly...

17. Devops Tools and AWS for Java Microservice Developers

udemy
4.7
(1,504)

Master Docker , Kubernetes, Maven, Jenkins ,GIT , AWS EC2 ,Elastic Beanstalk,ELB,Auto Scaling and more in easy steps...

18. Complete Solidworks Beginners Course

udemy
4.5
(757)

Learn Solidworks Part, assembly, drawing and more from scratch with real world examples...

19. SolidWorks 2017 Advanced Part Training

udemy
4.5
(343)

Learn all advanced tool in part level and make complex part in Solid Works...

20. PCB Design for everyone with EasyEDA a free and online tool

udemy
4.5
(306)

Learn PCB Design without any costly software, with easyeda: a free online and powerful tool for professional PCB Design...

Average tool and die designer salary by education level

According to our data, tool and die designers with a Associate degree earn the highest average salary, at $48,724 annually. Tool and die designers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $46,755.
Tool and die designer education levelTool and die designer salary
High School Diploma or Less$46,022
Bachelor's Degree$46,755
Some College/ Associate Degree$48,724

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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