Vertical lathe operator vs set-up operator

The differences between vertical lathe operators and set-up operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a vertical lathe operator and a set-up operator. Additionally, a set-up operator has an average salary of $39,269, which is higher than the $37,288 average annual salary of a vertical lathe operator.

The top three skills for a vertical lathe operator include cnc vertical, FANUC and quality checks. The most important skills for a set-up operator are calipers, cnc machines, and hand tools.

Vertical lathe operator vs set-up operator overview

	Vertical Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Yearly salary	$37,288	$39,269
Hourly rate	$17.93	$18.88
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	29,497	55,670
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Vertical lathe operator vs set-up operator salary

Vertical lathe operators and set-up operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Vertical Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Average salary	$37,288	$39,269
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $47,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Rochester, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Schneider Electric Industrial Services
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between vertical lathe operator and set-up operator education

There are a few differences between a vertical lathe operator and a set-up operator in terms of educational background:

	Vertical Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering Technology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Vertical lathe operator vs set-up operator demographics

Here are the differences between vertical lathe operators' and set-up operators' demographics:

	Vertical Lathe Operator	Set-Up Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%	Male, 85.6% Female, 14.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 6.0% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between vertical lathe operator and set-up operator duties and responsibilities

Vertical lathe operator example responsibilities.

Perform trial runs on new CNC programs, working with programming and tooling to achieve satisfactory parts.
Perform inspection duties on CMM as needed.
Perform quality control inspection using calipers/gauges/micrometers and digital comparators.
Conduct maintenance on equipment and setup for large boring machines.
Operate heavy duty lathes, boring machines and mills, planers, shapers and grinders.

Set-up operator example responsibilities.

Manage daily scheduling of production workload to be setup and run on machinery.
Use and replacement of drills, taps, broaches, and reamers.
Manufacture parts according to blueprints, work with stainless steel aluminum, brass and plastics.
Machine parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders.
Use of exact measuring instruments as CMM, optical comparators, mics, bore gauges and many other tools.
Produce parts from different materials such as cold roll steel, stainless steel, no lead brass and regular brass.

Vertical lathe operator vs set-up operator skills

Common vertical lathe operator skills

CNC Vertical, 65%
FANUC, 17%
Quality Checks, 17%

Common set-up operator skills

Calipers, 9%
CNC Machines, 7%
Hand Tools, 7%
Math, 6%
Quality Checks, 6%
Preventative Maintenance, 6%

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Production and Manufacturing Industry
Vertical Lathe Operator
Vertical Lathe Operator vs Set-Up Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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