Skilled Trades

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.

Median salary

$38,800

Typical range

$30k – $58k

Job outlook

See national outlook

AI exposure

Plan a path to Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Education

Typical entry: No degree required

•Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
•Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
•Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
•Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
•Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.

Any field

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.