How To Become A Tool Planner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tool planner 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 tool planner. For example, did you know that they make an average of $41.84 an hour? That's $87,023 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 3,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTool PlannerUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $87,023

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 2.72%

Black or African American 2.47%

Hispanic or Latino 6.60%

Unknown 2.83%

White 84.61%

Gender

female 15.94%

male 84.06%

Age - 57

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 - 57

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tool planner

Explore tool planner education requirements

Most common tool planner degrees

Bachelor's

46.2 %

Associate

23.1 %

High School Diploma

15.4 %

Start to develop specific tool planner skills

Skills	Percentages
Engineering Drawings	56.25%
MRP	22.73%
Engineering Blueprints	12.31%
Aircraft Production	8.70%

Complete relevant tool planner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tool planners 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 tool planner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tool planner resumes.

Research tool planner duties and responsibilities

Design and manage the implementation of production tooling (fixtures, jigs, gauges, cutting tools, etc . )
Introduce lean techniques through creation and implementation of ISO procedures.
Collaborate with CMM equipment in the inspection of inventory shipments, ensuring all materials comply with government quality requirements and specifications.
Fabricate metal parts from the machine shop for AH-64D.

Prepare your tool planner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tool planner 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 tool planner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tool planner resume templates

Build a professional tool planner 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 tool planner resume.