Production
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$46,570USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$22.39USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $35,930 | $17.27 |
| 25th | $39,440 | $18.96 |
| 50th · Median | $46,570 | $22.39 |
| 75th | $53,800 | $25.87 |
| 90th | $61,120 | $29.39 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
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Typical tasks
- Remove defective or substandard materials from machines, and readjust machine components so that products meet standards.
- Maintain production records, such as quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.
- Start machines to verify setups, and make any necessary adjustments.
- Press buttons, pull levers, or depress pedals to start and operate cutting and slicing machines.
- Review work orders, blueprints, specifications, or job samples to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines.
- Adjust machine controls to alter position, alignment, speed, or pressure.
Expand more tasks (22)
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as rulers, micrometers, or scales.
- Remove completed materials or products from cutting or slicing machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.
- Stack and sort cut material for packaging, further processing, or shipping, according to types and sizes of material.
- Type instructions on computer keyboards, push buttons to activate computer programs, or manually set cutting guides, clamps, and knives.
- Select and install machine components, such as cutting blades, rollers, and templates, according to specifications, using hand tools.
- Position stock along cutting lines, or against stops on beds of scoring or cutting machines.
- Monitor operation of cutting or slicing machines to detect malfunctions or to determine whether supplies need replenishment.
- Feed stock into cutting machines, onto conveyors, or under cutting blades, by threading, guiding, pushing, or turning handwheels.
- Move stock or scrap to and from machines manually, or by using carts, handtrucks, or lift trucks.
- Change or replace saw blades, cables, cutter heads, and grinding wheels, using hand tools.
- Clean and lubricate cutting machines, conveyors, blades, saws, or knives, using steam hoses, scrapers, brushes, or oil cans.
- Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
- Mark cutting lines or identifying information on stock, using marking pencils, rulers, or scribes.
- Start pumps to circulate water and abrasives onto blades or cables during cutting.
- Direct workers on cutting teams.
- Operate cranes, or signal crane operators to position or remove stone from cars or saw beds.
- Tighten pulleys or add abrasives to maintain cutting speeds.
- Position width gauge blocks between blades, and level blades and insert wedges into frames to secure blades to frames.
- Sharpen cutting blades, knives, or saws, using files, bench grinders, or honing stones.
- Cut stock manually to prepare for machine cutting, using tools such as knives, cleavers, handsaws, or hammers and chisels.
- Turn cranks or press buttons to activate winches that move cars under sawing cables or saw frames.
- Wash stones, using water hoses.
Skills used in this work
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Expand more skills (29)
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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