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.

What you'd actually do

• 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.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Less than high school. Overall preparation: little or no preparation (Job Zone 1 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; much of the day is spent working solo. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 3.4% of cutters and trimmers, hand are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.

Related careers

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• Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders
• Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers

Quick questions

How much does a cutters and trimmers, hand make?

The median pay is $18.28 per hour — roughly $38,000 a year, with the real range running from about $12.80/hr (10th percentile) to $27.82/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a cutters and trimmers, hand?

The typical entry-level education is: Less than high school. Overall preparation level: little or no preparation (Job Zone 1 of 5).

What does a cutters and trimmers, hand actually do all day?

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.