What the work involves, what it pays, and real lines you can start from. Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume.
Also called aircraft machinist, auto machinist, automotive machinist and cnc lathe machinist.
$58,750
Median pay a year
287,050
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Machinist resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Machinist
Summary
Machinist setting up and operating machine tools to produce precision metal parts and instruments, while measuring dimensions, examining completed units for defects, and maintaining equipment for optimal performance
Experience
Machinist
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Machined parts to specifications, using machine tools, such as lathes and milling machines
Calculated dimensions or tolerances, using instruments, such as micrometers and vernier calipers
Measured and examined completed units to check for defects, using precision instruments
Set up and operated specialized machine tools for precision machining operations
Studied blueprints and engineering information to determine methods for fabricating products
Maintained machine tools in proper operational condition to ensure efficiency
Conferred with engineering personnel to exchange technical information and ensure specifications
Skills
Core Skills
Conducting test runs of equipment, Measuring product dimensions, Operating metal or plastic forming equipment, Operating cutting equipment, Exchanging information with colleagues, Advising on various ways, Reviewing blueprints and instructions, Monitoring lubrication, Monitoring equipment operation, Mastercam computer-aided design and manufacturing software, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Mounting attachments or tools
Tools and software
G-code
Education
Certificate Your training program, Year
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
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What to put on a Machinist resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Calculated dimensions using precision instrumentsMachined parts to specifications with machine toolsMeasured completed units for defects and conformanceSet up and operated specialized machine toolsStudied blueprints to determine fabrication methodsMonitored machine feed and speed during operations
becomes
On your resume
Calculated dimensions using precision instruments to ensure accuracy in machining processes
Measured completed units for defects and conformance to specifications
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Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Add how often you calculated dimensions for projects
The line
Calculated dimensions using precision instruments for every project I worked on to ensure machining accuracy
Add how often you calculated dimensions for projects
Pick one that fits
Every project I worked onMost of the daily tasksSeveral times each shift
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved once the measurements were done
The line
Measured completed units for defects and conformance to specifications
Show what improved once the measurements were done
Pick one that fits
Reduced rework and wasteIncreased product qualityEnsured customer satisfaction
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for a Machinist resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Conducting test runs of equipment
Measuring product dimensions
Mounting attachments or tools
Operating metal or plastic forming equipment
Operating cutting equipment
Exchanging information with colleagues
Advising on various ways
Reviewing blueprints and instructions
Monitoring lubrication
Monitoring equipment operation
Testing samples
Measuring indicators
The work itself
What a Machinist does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
What it pays
How much does a Machinist make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$47,570
Median
$58,750
75th percentile
$67,700
About 287,050 people do this work in the United States.
This page is about the occupation Machinists. 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. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.