Etchers and Engravers Career, Salary and Skills
Etchers and Engravers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $43,310 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 7,750. Wage data is published for 80 locations.
Occupation description
Engrave or etch metal, wood, rubber, or other materials. Includes such workers as etcher-circuit processors, pantograph engravers, and silk screen etchers.
O*NET code
51-9194.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$43,310
Hourly median
$20.82
Employment
7,750
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | 3.12 | 2.88 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.12 | 2.88 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 2.62 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Operation and Control | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.75 | 2.25 |
Typical tasks
- Remove completed workpieces and place them in trays.
- Inspect etched work for depth of etching, uniformity, and defects, using calibrated microscopes, gauges, fingers, or magnifying lenses.
- Examine sketches, diagrams, samples, blueprints, or photographs to decide how designs are to be etched, cut, or engraved onto workpieces.
- Clean and polish engraved areas.
- Prepare workpieces for etching or engraving by cutting, sanding, cleaning, polishing, or treating them with wax, acid resist, lime, etching powder, or light-sensitive enamel.
- Engrave and print patterns, designs, etchings, trademarks, or lettering onto flat or curved surfaces of a wide variety of metal, glass, plastic, or paper items, using hand tools or hand-held power tools.
- Prepare etching chemicals according to formulas, diluting acid with water to obtain solutions of specified concentration.
- Determine machine settings, and move bars or levers to reproduce designs on rollers or plates.
Technology
- Adobe Illustrator
- Computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing CAD/CAM engraving software
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Delcam ArtCAM Express
- Gravograph GravoStyle
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Windows
- Western Engravers Supply Vision EXPERT
Etchers and Engravers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in CAMedian $46,480 · Employment 1,040
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in TXMedian $31,180 · Employment 630
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in NYMedian $51,540 · Employment 520
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $45,520 · Employment 500
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in New York, NYMedian $58,020 · Employment 430
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in MIMedian $43,180 · Employment 390
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in WIMedian $50,290 · Employment 390
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in ILMedian $43,450 · Employment 330
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in MAMedian $50,710 · Employment 320
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in OHMedian $50,430 · Employment 320
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in TNMedian $38,230 · Employment 300
- Etchers and Engravers Salary in PAMedian $47,790 · Employment 260
Related careers
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticNational median $46,330
- Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersNational median $48,250
- Fabric and Apparel PatternmakersNational median $62,750
- Layout Workers, Metal and PlasticNational median $63,870
- Model Makers, Metal and PlasticNational median $63,340
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersNational median $46,570
- Printing Press OperatorsNational median $45,780
- Ophthalmic Laboratory TechniciansNational median $39,460
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.