An official website of Washington State government
Machinists
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
What a machinist does
Become a machinist
If you enjoy doing these activities, you might make a good machinist
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Discover what you could earn in Washington
- Typical hourly rate is $37 per hour with a typical salary of $77,200 per year.
- Half of workers earn between $26 and $43 per hour.
- Half of workers earn an annual salary between $21,000 and $84,600 per year.
- 59% of individuals in this occupation have been employed in every quarter of the past year.
Part-time
- The typical hourly rate for part-time workers is $31 per hour with a typical salary of $35,500 per year.
- 34.8% of individuals in this occupation worked part-time during the past year.
Machinist job outlook
- There are 6,967 workers in this occupation in Washington.
- There are 936 openings per year in this occupation in Washington.
Multiple Jobs
- 3% of individuals in this occupation worked for more than one employer.
- 16% of individuals in this occupation held a position in another.