Careers / Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$35,060

United States, 2025

Employment

26,120

United States, 2025

Typical education

Less than a High School Diploma

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

O*NET code
51-6021.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

Typical tasks

  • Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
  • Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
  • Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
  • Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
  • Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
  • Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
  • Identify and treat spots on garments.
  • Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$27,180
10th
$29,870
25th
$35,060
Median
$37,940
75th
$43,050
90th

10th percentile

$27,180

25th percentile

$29,870

75th percentile

$37,940

90th percentile

$43,050

Most important skills

  • Operation and Control3.0
  • Critical Thinking2.5
  • Time Management2.5
  • Operations Monitoring2.5
  • Monitoring2.4
  • Troubleshooting2.3
  • Equipment Maintenance2.3
  • Complex Problem Solving2.3
  • Active Learning2.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.1
  • Speaking2.1
  • Quality Control Analysis2.1

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 1 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

1

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Operation and Control3.02.3Not selected2.3

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Jose, CA$44,4401102025
San Francisco, CA$43,7906002025
IL$40,2302025
Portland, OR$39,5101302025
Los Angeles, CA$39,3001,4202025
CA$39,3003,8502025
Denver, CO$39,1701902025
Santa Maria, CA$38,700602025
San Diego, CA$38,6303402025
NH$38,5401002025
Modesto, CA$38,460302025
Salinas, CA$38,350902025
Stockton, CA$38,300402025
CO$38,3003202025
Sacramento, CA$38,1902602025
ME$38,020602025
Portland, ME$38,020302025
Oxnard, CA$38,000502025
NJ$37,9208702025
New York, NY$37,9201,9902025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 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.