---
title: "Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-7042 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-7042.00

Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.

Also advertised as: Boring Machine Operator; Cabinet Maker; Knot Saw Operator; Lathe Operator; Machine Operator; Molder Operator; Router Operator; Sander.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $43,380 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $20.86/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $32,110 to $56,830, with the middle half between $37,100 and $48,720
- **Total US employment:** 61,420
- **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:** -2.5% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 5,300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 48/100 — 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 61,420 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $32,110 |
| 25th | $37,100 |
| 50th (median) | $43,380 |
| 75th | $48,720 |
| 90th | $56,830 |
| Mean (average) | $43,570 |

### 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 | $52,980 | $49,508 | 1,250 |
| MN | $51,540 | $52,261 | 710 |
| IA | $51,200 | $58,340 | 1,100 |
| NJ | $49,680 | $45,660 | 410 |
| OR | $49,480 | $47,871 | 2,120 |
| NE | $49,190 | $54,593 | 490 |
| MI | $47,680 | $49,555 | 5,250 |
| LA | $47,170 | $53,476 | 400 |
| CT | $47,140 | $45,498 | 150 |
| CO | $46,500 | $45,123 | 440 |
| VT | $46,480 | $47,449 | 200 |
| MD | $46,470 | $44,274 | 420 |
| NH | $46,450 | $44,593 | 440 |
| MA | $46,430 | $43,903 | 890 |
| CA | $46,370 | $41,880 | 3,530 |

33 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 48 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 60,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 59,400 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 1,500 jobs, or -2.5%. Declining: -2.5% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 5,300 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) | 73.1% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 20.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 4.6% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 1.7% |

## What the work involves

- Examine finished workpieces for smoothness, shape, angle, depth-of-cut, or conformity to specifications and verify dimensions, visually and using hands, rules, calipers, templates, or gauges.
- Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
- Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
- Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
- Remove and replace worn parts, bits, belts, sandpaper, or shaping tools.
- Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
- Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
- Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.3 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 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Building and Construction — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Reaction Time — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.3 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 | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.14 |
| I — Investigative | 2.38 |
| S — Social | 1.20 |
| A — Artistic | 1.13 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.02 |

### 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 | 88.9 |
| ISTP | 77.7 |
| ISFJ | 74.0 |
| ESTJ | 71.5 |
| INTJ | 66.7 |

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.

- [Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Wood](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sawing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-wood) — median $42,770
- [Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-and-slicing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $46,570
- [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
- [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
- [Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-punching-and-press-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $46,330
- [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
- [Textile Cutting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/textile-cutting-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $38,760
- [Rolling Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rolling-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $50,140
- [Forging Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forging-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $49,030

## 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/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender