What do manufacturing jobs pay, and are they going away?

Some are, and some are not, and the data shows which. Welders earn a median $53,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year and machinists $58,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025], and most of the jobs here start with a high school diploma. BLS projects that 9 [BLS Employment Projections, counted by HighPathways, United States, 2025–2035] of the 17 jobs will have fewer people in them in ten years: engine and other machine assemblers by −17% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035], and CNC tool operators by −9.4% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035].

A shrinking job is not a job with no openings. BLS counts the people who leave a job as well as the jobs that disappear, so CNC tool operators still show 12,500 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year, and welders 40,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035].

Pay is the median annual wage for the whole United States. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. Each number is followed, in brackets, by its publisher and date.

What a start looks like

For most of the jobs on this list, BLS lists a high school diploma and up to a year of on-the-job training. For welders it describes the typical way in as: High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]. Tool and die makers earn $64,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] and CNC tool programmers $68,120 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]; BLS lists a postsecondary certificate for both.

16 [O*NET RAPIDS crosswalk, U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA, counted by HighPathways, United States, 2026-03] of the 17 jobs have a registered apprenticeship in the federal register. That tells you a route exists, not that a program near you is taking applications.

The highest pay is not on an assembly floor

Power distributors and dispatchers earn $106,730 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year and power plant operators $102,040 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]. Those are two of the six plant and system operators BLS files under production beside the assemblers and machinists, and they are a different kind of work: running a plant rather than making a part. BLS lists a high school diploma and more than a year of on-the-job training for power plant operators, who have 2,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year and are projected to change −5.1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]. Water and wastewater treatment plant operators earn $60,020 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] with 10,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year.

Quality inspection and machine work

Quality control inspectors earn $48,570 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year and have 66,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year, the most of any job in this group. Machinists have 26,100 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year and are projected to change +1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] over ten years. Tool and die makers are projected to change −9.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035].

Manufacturing jobs, side by side

Median pay is the national median annual wage: half the people in the job earn more, half less. Openings a year is a BLS projection that counts people leaving the job as well as new jobs, so it measures turnover, not positions open today. Where we hold no verified figure it says Provisional, never an estimate.

Welder
Join metal parts for manufacturing and construction using precise, hands-on technique.
Median pay
$53,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
40,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+2.4% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Machinists
You read blueprints, set up lathes and mills, and machine metal parts to precise tolerances, checking your work with micrometers and calipers.
Median pay
$58,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
26,100 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers
You write and edit CAM toolpaths and G-code, simulate cuts, set feeds and speeds, then prove programs out on the machine.
Median pay
$68,120 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
2,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+5.9% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Tool and Die Makers
You craft precision dies, molds, jigs, and gauges, machining and hand-fitting tooling to exacting tolerances so factory lines can stamp parts accurately.
Median pay
$64,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
4,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
−9.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Quality Control Inspectors
You measure and test parts against specs using gauges and instruments, document defects, and reject units that fail quality standards.
Median pay
$48,570 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
66,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+2.5% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
You operate pumps and treatment processes, test water samples, adjust chemical dosing, and log results to keep water safe and compliant.
Median pay
$60,020 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
10,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
−5.7% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Verification required

Licences and credentials

Some jobs in this group ask for a licence or a certification, for example operating a water treatment plant, and the rules are set by states and by employers. We do not list them, and nothing on this page certifies that a program or a credential qualifies you. Verify the requirements before you pay for training.

CareerOneStop's License Finder lists licensing requirements by state.

What this page cannot tell you

BLS files these 17 jobs under production. That group holds the plant and system operators and, for reasons that are BLS's, bakers and prepress technicians. It leaves out maintenance mechanics and industrial machinery repair, which are on the repair and maintenance page.

A national projection says nothing about the plants near you, and a plant opening or closing matters more to a local job than ten years of national change. What it does not include: what training costs, or pay in your state or city.

All 17 manufacturing jobs we cover

Ordered by median annual pay, highest first. Pay is national.
Job	Median pay	Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$106,730 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Power Plant Operators	$102,040 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Petroleum Pump System / Refinery Operators & Gaugers	$96,710 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Gas Plant Operators	$87,820 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	$78,620 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers	$68,120 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Tool and Die Makers	$64,050 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	$60,020 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Machinists	$58,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · More than 1 year on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Welder	$53,750 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	$53,710 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators	$50,690 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Prepress Technicians and Workers	$48,690 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Postsecondary certificate · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Quality Control Inspectors	$48,570 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators & Tenders	$47,180 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Molding, Coremaking & Casting Machine Operators	$44,350 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	High school diploma or equivalent · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Bakers	$37,160 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	No formal educational credential · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page was published by someone other than us and is shown as published. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. A figure we cannot source is marked Provisional, and one the publisher does not measure says so. Both appear on the page itself, not behind a tap.

Median pay CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), 2025. About this source
Projected change in jobs over ten years BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Openings a year BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Typical way in CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28. About this source
Registered apprenticeship titles O*NET RAPIDS crosswalk, U.S. Dept. of Labor/ETA, 2026-03. About this source

The provisional flag and every publisher's terms are explained on Where our numbers come from.

Found something wrong? Email hello@highpathways.com and name the page and the figure. It goes to a person at HighPathways.

Wages, time-to-entry, education levels, state licensing and local training programs sourced via CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS; BLS Employment Projections; License Finder; Local Training Finder: NCES IPEDS and US DOL ETP/WIOA), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and operated by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development. Shown as published.

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. HighPathways has modified some of this information: we shorten O*NET’s official occupation titles so they read the way people say them; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay and cost figures are sourced separately and listed on the Data sources page.

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