SOC 51-9031.00

    Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

    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.

    Median pay
    $38,020
    Growth
    -18.9%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    500
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $26,630
    Median
    $38,020
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $57,870
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    6,060 people work in this occupation.

    What cutters and trimmers, hand do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    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.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    87 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    4 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    20 / 100
    Social (S)
    2 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    0 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    46 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCA. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Handling and Moving Objects
    67
    Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information
    65
    Performing General Physical Activities
    63
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    61
    Getting Information
    58
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    56
    Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
    56
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    54
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    54
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    54
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Speaking
    • Time Management
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Coordination

    Knowledge

    • Production and Processing
    • Mathematics
    • English Language
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Administration and Management
    • Education and Training
    • Psychology
    • Design
    • Sociology and Anthropology

    Abilities

    • Manual Dexterity
    • Near Vision
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Information Ordering
    • Category Flexibility
    • Control Precision
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Recognition
    • Static Strength
    • Finger Dexterity

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Perseverance
    • Integrity
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control
    • Self-Confidence
    • Adaptability

    Also called

    Aluminum Sheet Cutter · Basting Puller · Belt Splicer · Bright Cutter · Bucker · Buttoner · Buttonhole Maker · Buttonhole Marker · Candle Cutter · Cane Cutter

    Your plan

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    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    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. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.