Tool and Die Makers

High Risk
69%

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Vote Comments (7)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
88%
(Imminent Risk)
POLLING
51%
(Moderate Risk, Based on 92 votes)
Average: 69%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
-9.7%
by year 2033
WAGES
$61,490
or $29.56 per hour
Volume
58,150
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
2.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

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Calculated automation risk

88% (Imminent Risk)

Imminent Risk (81-100%): Occupations in this level have an extremely high likelihood of being automated in the near future. These jobs consist primarily of repetitive, predictable tasks with little need for human judgment.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Finger Dexterity

User poll

51% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 88% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Tool and Die Makers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Tool and Die Makers' job openings is expected to decline 9.7% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Tool and Die Makers' was $61,490, or $30 per hour

'Tool and Die Makers' were paid 27.9% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 58,150 people employed as 'Tool and Die Makers' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 2 thousand people are employed as 'Tool and Die Makers'.

Job description

Analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists' hand tools.

SOC Code: 51-4111.00

Comments (7)

Leave a comment
James (Low)
14 Oct 2025 12:52
Toolmaking is fairly unpredictable, and requires a fairly high level of dexterity to assemble and disassemble tools.
Jerry Melvin (Low)
21 Jul 2025 17:47
As a tool maker, we machine create, build, assemble & troubleshoot all types of various cooling machine, machines dies mold I can’t see how robot is gonna be able to do that.
ralph kulas (No chance)
30 Jun 2023 21:54
been one all my life. I'm 76 yr old. Most things in die making a robot just cant do!!
N (Low)
24 Mar 2023 20:10
There’s a lot of thinking a toolmaker does that a robot can’t really be taught to compete with, the problem lies with a lot of the younger generations not seeing it as a viable trade or one that even exists for that matter
eric eliason (Low)
13 Mar 2021 15:21
increasing need for support for nc fixtures etc. lack of skilled workers for one-off jobs not worth programming
Iron man
04 Dec 2020 00:11
CNC and 3D print is a tool to make a part and a part of the job. Making the part is only a fraction of the trade. Engineered prints are always incomplete or incorrect because engineering is a world of theory and trades like tool and die maker are where theory meets reality. Pre WW2 engineering didn’t even exist the tool maker was the engineer.
Tim Postma (Highly likely)
29 Dec 2019 18:21
because of more modern ways then tool and die such as digital manufacturing , its easier to just cnc mill or 3dprinting & will eventually out pace traditional jobs in the supply chain but keep in mind to have a future to get future jobs its important to accept automation and retool the skills needed because learning automation skills like coding and 3dprinting will make those people a opportunity
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