What the work involves, what it pays, and grounded tasks, skills, tools, and experience you can choose from.
Also called cad programmer, cam programmer, cnc lathe programmer and cnc lathe programmer operator.
$68,120
Median pay a year
28,500
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Real figures for this work, and lines you can use in your own resume. Where they come from is at the foot of this page.
An example
A Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer resume, filled in
Common skills that can help you remember what you used on the job.
Programming equipment
Determining equipment settings
Entering specifications into equipment
Studying blueprints or instructions
Inspecting completed work
Conducting test runs of equipment
Calculating equipment
Verifying information or specifications
Selecting production equipment
Creating diagrams for workpieces
Planning production procedures
Aligning equipment
Every line comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer
Summary
Computer numerically controlled tool programmer developing programs to control machines and processing materials, setting up and maintaining equipment while analyzing job orders and creating geometric layouts
Experience
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Determined the sequence of machine operations and selected cutting tools for workpieces
Analyzed job orders, drawings, and blueprints to calculate dimensions and tool selection
Wrote programs for machine controllers and stored them on tapes or disks
Observed machines on trial runs to ensure proper function and item specifications
Revised programs to fix errors and retested them to ensure problems were solved
Performed preventative maintenance and minor repairs on machines
Prepared geometric layouts using computer drafting software or graph paper
Skills
Technical Skills
Programming equipment, Entering specifications into equipment
Checking & Planning
Determining equipment settings, Inspecting completed work, Conducting test runs of equipment, Calculating equipment, Verifying information or specifications, Selecting production equipment, Creating diagrams for workpieces
Core Skills
Studying blueprints or instructions
Education
High School Diploma Your school, Year
Yours will not say this. You choose what matches your experience, and every line remains yours to confirm or change.
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What to put on a Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer resume
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What did you do each day?
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Decided machine operation stepsChecked job orders and blueprintsWatched machines during test runsWrote programs for machine controllersEntered commands to save patternsFixed programs to remove errors
becomes
On your resume
Decided machine operation steps based on job orders and blueprints to ensure efficient production processes
Monitored machines during test runs to ensure proper operation and identify any issues.
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Add how many job orders you analyzed for this.
The line
Determined machine operation steps for several job orders each week to ensure efficient production processes
Add how many job orders you analyzed for this.
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Several each weekA few every dayMost of the projects I worked on
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Added to your resume
Show what improved once you monitored the machines.
The line
Monitored machines during test runs to ensure proper operation and identify any issues.
Show what improved once you monitored the machines.
Pick one that fits
Smoother operation of machinesFaster setup times for tests
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The work itself
What a Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Develop programs to control machining or processing of materials by automatic machine tools, equipment, or systems. May also set up, operate, or maintain equipment.
What it pays
How much does a Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$58,270
Median
$68,120
75th percentile
$81,890
About 28,500 people do this work in the United States.
What you can already claim as a Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer
Below are the tasks a Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer job is made of. Choose the ones you have really done. There is no wrong answer here, and you can change any of it later.
Which of these tasks have you actually done?
4 chosen. Rung never adds a task you did not choose.
You can already claim 4 of the 9 tasks this job is made of.
What you have not done yet. Inspecting completed work, Conducting test runs of equipment, Calculating equipment
Your resume, already started
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer
Programming equipment
Determining equipment settings
Entering specifications into equipment
Studying blueprints or instructions
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This page is about the occupation Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.