Careers / Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$38,020

United States, 2025

Employment

6,060

United States, 2025

Typical education

Less than a High School Diploma

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

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.

O*NET code
51-9031.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • 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.
  • Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
  • Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
  • Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$26,630
10th
$34,050
25th
$38,020
Median
$47,850
75th
$57,870
90th

10th percentile

$26,630

25th percentile

$34,050

75th percentile

$47,850

90th percentile

$57,870

Most important skills

  • Speaking2.9
  • Time Management2.9
  • Active Listening2.9
  • Social Perceptiveness2.8
  • Reading Comprehension2.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.8
  • Monitoring2.8
  • Critical Thinking2.6
  • Complex Problem Solving2.5
  • Management of Personnel Resources2.3
  • Coordination2.3
  • Service Orientation2.3

What skills do you need?

No skill ratings are recorded for this occupation in the current O*NET release.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Hickory, NC$49,2005902025
NE$48,830602025
VT$48,6702025
IA$48,5802025
RI$48,100502025
NC$47,9101,0602025
MI$46,830502025
MN$46,570402025
NY$46,1902202025
Winston, NC$45,520502025
St. Louis, MO$45,250402025
Providence, RI$44,140702025
San Francisco, CA$42,580402025
Atlanta, GA$41,8901102025
IN$41,7403602025
Elkhart, IN$41,740702025
Charlotte, NC$40,9701302025
MO$40,5601102025
MA$39,9701102025
SC$39,340502025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Cutters and Trimmers, Hand to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.