Tool builder vs fixture maker

The differences between tool builders and fixture makers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a tool builder and a fixture maker. Additionally, a tool builder has an average salary of $44,285, which is higher than the $41,672 average annual salary of a fixture maker.

The top three skills for a tool builder include jigs, hand tools and calipers. The most important skills for a fixture maker are hand tools, grinders, and store fixtures.

Tool builder vs fixture maker overview

	Tool Builder	Fixture Maker
Yearly salary	$44,285	$41,672
Hourly rate	$21.29	$20.03
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	10,843	7,111
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	Associate Degree, 53%
Average age	54	54
Years of experience	6	6

Tool builder vs fixture maker salary

Tool builders and fixture makers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tool Builder	Fixture Maker
Average salary	$44,285	$41,672
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $57,000	Between $30,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between tool builder and fixture maker education

There are a few differences between a tool builder and a fixture maker in terms of educational background:

	Tool Builder	Fixture Maker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	Associate Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Tool builder vs fixture maker demographics

Here are the differences between tool builders' and fixture makers' demographics:

	Tool Builder	Fixture Maker
Average age	54	54
Gender ratio	Male, 96.9% Female, 3.1%	Male, 100.0% Female, 0.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.5% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 2.7% White, 84.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 1.8% Unknown, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 4.7% Asian, 2.6% White, 87.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between tool builder and fixture maker duties and responsibilities

Tool builder example responsibilities.

Contract machinist Fanuc lathes machining large turbines for use in power generation for Mitsubishi-Hitachi in Savannah Ga.
Fabricate composite and aluminum full validating fixtures for interior and exterior vehicle build.

Fixture maker example responsibilities.

Fabricate precision jig fixtures enabling production to produce numerous parts from jigs using sheet metal carpentry and various other skills.
Perform all machining operations necessary to build production machinery and tooling to manufacture a wide selection of aerospace fasteners.
Machine high tolerance checking fixture details on Bridgeport and automatic wet grinder.
Perform all machining operations necessary to build production machinery and tooling to manufacture a wide selection of aerospace fasteners.

Tool builder vs fixture maker skills

Common tool builder skills

Jigs, 16%
Hand Tools, 12%
Calipers, 11%
Grinders, 11%
Aerospace, 5%
Machine Shop, 4%

Common fixture maker skills

Hand Tools, 53%
Grinders, 33%
Store Fixtures, 7%
Jigs, 4%
Prototype, 4%