Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
What Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Do
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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 3.4%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Production and Processingimportance 3.3/5
- Mathematicsimportance 2.4/5
- English Languageimportance 2.2/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 2.1/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 1.9/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 1.9/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 1.9/5
- Psychologyimportance 1.8/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.7/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5
- Spend Time Standing4.6/5
- Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions4.0/5
- Time Pressure3.8/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Paperhangers96% skill match
- Food Preparation Workers96% skill match
- Bus Drivers, School95% skill match
- Log Graders and Scalers95% skill match
- Security Guards95% skill match
- Driver/Sales Workers94% skill match
- Correctional Officers and Jailers94% skill match
- Stockers and Order Fillers94% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.5/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.3/5
- Service Orientationimportance 2.3/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.3/5
- Operation and Controlimportance 2.3/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Perseverance
- Integrity
- Achievement Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- ArtisticLow
- InvestigativeLow
- SocialLow
- EnterprisingLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where cutters and trimmers, hand make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC97.45× national avg
- 2Dalton, GA31.83× national avg
- 3Greensboro-High Point, NC14.02× national avg
- 4Elkhart-Goshen, IN13.96× national avg
- 5Winston-Salem, NC4.51× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- PaperhangersCareer Change
- Painters, Construction and MaintenanceCareer Change
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine OperatorsCareer Change
- Log Graders and ScalersCareer Change