Career
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders
Run machines that cut fabric.
$38,760
Median pay
-13.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
900
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Inspect products to ensure that the quality standards and specifications are met.
- Place patterns on top of layers of fabric and cut fabric following patterns, using electric or manual knives, cutters, or computer numerically controlled cutting devices.
- Start machines, monitor operations, and make adjustments as needed.
- Adjust machine controls, such as heating mechanisms, tensions, or speeds, to produce specified products.
- Record information about work completed and machine settings.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Inspect products to ensure that the quality standards and specifications are met.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $38,760 a year and 900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$46,570 · -0.9%
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$50,270 · -3.6%
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$43,380 · -2.5%
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550 · -10.8%
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,330 · -10.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.