---
title: "Coil Winder, Taper, and Finisher"
description: "Wind wire coils used in electrical components, such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments, such as field cores…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/coil-winder-taper-and-finisher"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Coil Winder, Taper, and Finisher

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-2021 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-2021.00

Wind wire coils used in electrical components, such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments, such as field cores, bobbins, armature cores, electrical motors, generators, and control equipment.

Also advertised as: Armature Winder; Auto-Winder; Coil Finisher; Coil Winder; Hand Winder; Motor Winder; Winder; Winder Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $48,220 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.18/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,540 to $63,300, with the middle half between $42,050 and $58,770
- **Total US employment:** 12,840
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -4.0% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,200 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 50/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 12,840 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,540 |
| 25th | $42,050 |
| 50th (median) | $48,220 |
| 75th | $58,770 |
| 90th | $63,300 |
| Mean (average) | $50,470 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $73,920 | $69,076 | 60 |
| LA | $61,480 | $69,700 | 60 |
| IA | $59,780 | $68,116 | 260 |
| GA | $59,180 | $61,458 | 420 |
| VA | $56,230 | $55,616 | 460 |
| AL | $55,880 | $62,912 | 420 |
| MD | $54,180 | $51,620 | 160 |
| KY | $53,490 | $59,329 | 100 |
| MN | $52,820 | $53,559 | 80 |
| NY | $52,280 | $48,443 | 850 |
| UT | $51,910 | $52,506 | 50 |
| SC | $51,670 | $55,115 | 190 |
| MO | $51,490 | $56,696 | 420 |
| NC | $51,180 | $54,259 | 480 |
| PA | $50,380 | $51,634 | 450 |

23 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 38 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/coil-winder-taper-and-finisher/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/coil-winder-taper-and-finisher.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 12,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 12,400 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 500 jobs, or -4.0%. Declining: -4.0% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,200 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 57.2% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 40.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.6% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 0.3% |

## What the work involves

- Attach, alter, and trim materials such as wire, insulation, and coils, using hand tools.
- Record production and operational data on specified forms.
- Cut, strip, and bend wire leads at ends of coils, using pliers and wire scrapers.
- Stop machines to remove completed components, using hand tools.
- Review work orders and specifications to determine materials needed and types of parts to be processed.
- Select and load materials such as workpieces, objects, and machine parts onto equipment used in coiling processes.
- Operate or tend wire-coiling machines to wind wire coils used in electrical components such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments such as bobbins and generators.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Education and Training — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Selective Attention — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.54 |
| C — Conventional | 4.17 |
| I — Investigative | 2.28 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.40 |
| S — Social | 1.12 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 90.3 |
| ISTP | 77.1 |
| ISFJ | 74.6 |
| ESTJ | 74.2 |
| INTJ | 66.4 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-assembler) — median $45,930
- [Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $50,620
- [Extruding and Forming Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Synthetic and Glass Fiber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-and-forming-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-synthetic-and-glass-fiber) — median $46,350
- [Tool Grinder, Filer, and Sharpener](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-grinder-filer-and-sharpener) — median $50,060
- [Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-and-slicing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $46,570
- [Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $47,920
- [Multiple Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/multiple-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $47,180
- [Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $46,550
- [Milling and Planing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $52,800
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler) — median $53,710

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/coil-winder-taper-and-finisher