How To Become A Wood Machinist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a wood machinist 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 wood machinist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.29 an hour? That's $40,120 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 3,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreWood MachinistUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,120

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 5.61%

Black or African American 3.06%

Hispanic or Latino 9.87%

Unknown 3.71%

White 77.26%

Gender

female 5.71%

male 94.29%

Age - 49

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 - 49

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a wood machinist

Explore wood machinist education requirements

Most common wood machinist degrees

High School Diploma

50.0 %

Bachelor's

18.8 %

Diploma

18.8 %

Start to develop specific wood machinist skills

Skills	Percentages
CNC	100.00%

Complete relevant wood machinist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New wood machinists 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 wood machinist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real wood machinist resumes.

Research wood machinist duties and responsibilities

Manage output according to company quality standards and corresponding ISO certification.
Work closely with management and engineering staff to ensure efficient and safe methods are utilized in producing high quality aerospace components.
Service and overhaul locomotives as required.

Prepare your wood machinist resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable wood machinist resume templates

Build a professional wood machinist 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 wood machinist resume.