How to become a Hand Cutter or Trimmer

Official title: Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Also called: Cloth Cutter, Denim Cutter, Fabric Cutter, Finisher, Glass Cutter, Hand Cutter, Leather Cutter, Offline Cutter, Sample Cutter, Trimmer

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.

Main 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.

How to become one

Typical education to start: No formal educational credential

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Cutter, Machine 1.
• Apprenticeship: Fur Cutter.
• Apprenticeship: Silkscreen Cutter.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $38,020 a year The middle half earn $34,050 to $47,850.
• About 5,900 people work in this job now, and about 4,800 are projected by 2035. (-18.9%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
• Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Hand Cutter or Trimmer?

Ways in include: Cutter, Machine 1.

How much does a Hand Cutter or Trimmer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $38,020 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $34,050 to $47,850.

Is a Hand Cutter or Trimmer a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to fall 19% by 2035, from about 5,900 to about 4,800 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Hand Cutter or Trimmer?

Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Cutter, Machine 1.

Will AI change the work of a Hand Cutter or Trimmer?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.