How to become a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender

Official title: Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Also called: Cutter, Cutter Operator, Cutting Machine Operator, Die Cutter Operator, Flat Cutter, Machine Operator, Paper Cutter, Sheeter, Skiver Operator, Slitter

Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.

Main tasks

• Remove defective or substandard materials from machines, and readjust machine components so that products meet standards.
• Maintain production records, such as quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.
• Start machines to verify setups, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Press buttons, pull levers, or depress pedals to start and operate cutting and slicing machines.
• Review work orders, blueprints, specifications, or job samples to determine components, settings, and adjustments for cutting and slicing machines.
• Adjust machine controls to alter position, alignment, speed, or pressure.
• Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices, such as rulers, micrometers, or scales.
• Remove completed materials or products from cutting or slicing machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Gang Sawyer, Stone.
• Apprenticeship: Stone-Lathe Operator.
• Apprenticeship: Wire Sawyer (Stonework).

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $46,570 a year The middle half earn $39,440 to $53,800.
• About 45,900 people work in this job now, and about 45,500 are projected by 2035. (-0.9%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
• 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

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Ways in include: Gang Sawyer, Stone.

How much does a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $46,570 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $39,440 to $53,800.

Is a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 45,900 people now and 45,500 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Usually not. Only 5% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Gang Sawyer, Stone.

Will AI change the work of a Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

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.