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Tool and die maker education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, tool and die makers don't need a college education. The most common degree for tool and die makers is associate degree with 36% graduates, with only 27% tool and die maker graduates earning high school diploma. Tool and die makers who decided to graduate from college often finish Jackson College or Vincennes University. Some good skills to have in this position include cnc, grinders and jigs.

Popular tool and die maker certifications include Master of Die Casting Tooling, Certified Machine Tool Sales Engineer (CMTSE), or Master Engine Machinist. To improve tool and die maker qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in tool and die maker education paths.

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

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

The most common degree for tool and die makers is associate degree, with 36% of tool and die makers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 27% and high school diploma degree at 16%.
  • Associate, 36%
  • High School Diploma, 27%
  • Bachelor's, 16%
  • Diploma, 12%
  • Other Degrees, 9%

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

You should major in precision metal working to become a tool and die maker. 42% of tool and die makers major in precision metal working. Other common majors for a tool and die maker include business and industrial technology.

Best majors for tool and die makers

20 best online courses for tool and die makers

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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. Web Applications and Command-Line Tools for Data Engineering

coursera

In this fourth course of the Python, Bash and SQL Essentials for Data Engineering Specialization, you will build upon the data engineering concepts introduced in the first three courses to apply Python, Bash and SQL techniques in tackling real-world problems. First, we will dive deeper into leveraging Jupyter notebooks to create and deploy models for machine learning tasks. Then, we will explore how to use Python microservices to break up your data warehouse into small, portable solutions that...

3. Fusion 360 CAD/CAM for CNC routers

udemy
4.5
(397)

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

4. Fusion 360 tutorial for CNC machinists

udemy
4.3
(575)

CAD CAM training for CNC machinists using fusion 360...

5. Digital Tools and Well-Being

coursera

Well-being matters in every part of life: your physical health, mental health and even your relationships. With every new digital tool that comes into your life, that relationship with your own health can change — for better or worse. You might be distancing yourself from others if you get too addicted to using your device. Or, you might be using these devices to improve your professional life. The difference lies in knowing what well-being means, and what digital tools do to change your way of...

6. 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...

7. Master Pro Tools 11 - A Definitive Pro Tools Course

udemy
4.3
(383)

Master Avid Pro Tools 11. Learn the Audio Production Secrets used by the Pros. An easy to follow Pro Tools tutorial...

8. 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...

9. Software Engineering Tools and Practices

coursera

This specialization is intended for those who want to take their skills beyond just coding. The act of writing software is a large ecosystem of skills, tools, and philosophies. These six courses introduce you to a systematic way of developing software that build upon your previous coding knowledge and experience. These topics will help prepare you to write better code, automate common tasks, and interoperate with other software and services...

10. Multi-Axis CNC Toolpaths

coursera

Computer Numerical Controlled machines, or CNC for short, can have a nearly endless number of options. Most machines today control tool motion in 3-axes, X, Y and Z, but can be upgraded to include a 4th or 5th axis as well, A and B. Additionally, there are many machines on the market that are already 5-axis capable. The good news is that Autodesk® Fusion 360™ has you covered if you need to control multi-axis positioning or simultaneous motion in all 5 axes at once! Want to take your learning to...

11. Learn to Repair & Troubleshoot Electronics

udemy
4.2
(395)

Learn how to identify, troubleshoot and repair electronic components...

12. Continuous Improvement Tools

udemy
4.7
(662)

Essential Lean Tools and Techniques for Business Process Improvement, Operational Excellence, and Customer Satisfaction...

13. Tools for Data Science

coursera

In order to be successful in Data Science, you need to be skilled with using tools that Data Science professionals employ as part of their jobs. This course teaches you about the popular tools in Data Science and how to use them. You will become familiar with the Data Scientist’s tool kit which includes: Libraries & Packages, Data Sets, Machine Learning Models, Kernels, as well as the various Open source, commercial, Big Data and Cloud-based tools. Work with Jupyter Notebooks, JupyterLab,...

14. 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...

15. Reliability and Maintenance Engineering - FMEA

udemy
4
(533)

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis - A mechanical engineering approach to risk management of plant and machinery...

16. Devtools Pro: Beginner to Expert w/ Chrome Developer Tools

udemy
4.4
(1,647)

The Complete 2017 Guide to Building Beautiful, Fast, and Bug Free Web Applications with Google Chrome Dev Tools...

17. 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...

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

udemy
4.4
(2,712)

For Basic and Intermediate Users...

19. 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...

20. 7 Quality Tools for Quality Management and Improvements.

udemy
4.4
(434)

A complete Crash Course on the 7 Basic Tools for Quality Management and its Implementation using MS Excel...

Average tool and die maker salary by education level

According to our data, tool and die makers with a Associate degree earn the highest average salary, at $55,411 annually. Tool and die makers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $53,644.
Tool and die maker education levelTool and die maker salary
High School Diploma or Less$52,981
Bachelor's Degree$53,644
Some College/ Associate Degree$55,411

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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