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Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
Production · SOC 51-4194
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$50,060
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
1,200
Proj. Annual Openings
5,600
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-2.3%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-4194 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 49/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $50,060
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 1,200
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -7.8%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 1,281 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlQuality Control AnalysisEquipment MaintenanceRepairing
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
15.3%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI3.3%
AI ability · AIOE42.6%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne88%
Top Skills
1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operation and Control
3.Quality Control Analysis
4.Equipment Maintenance
5.Repairing
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
Common titles: Cutter Grinder, Finisher, Grinder, Grinder Operator, OD Grinder Operator (Outer Diameter Grinder Operator), Saw Filer
Representative Tasks
- •Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
- •Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
- •Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.
- •Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
- •Compute numbers, widths, and angles of cutting tools, micrometers, scales, and gauges, and adjust tools to produce specified cuts.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Operate grinding equipment.
- •Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
- •Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
- •Inspect finishes of workpieces or finished products.
- •Calculate specific material, equipment, or labor requirements for production.
Tools & Technologies
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks · hotMicrosoft Excel · hotANCA ToolRoomIBM Lotus NotesVero Software EdgecamZoller
Related Occupations
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticGrinding and Polishing Workers, HandMilling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticWoodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except SawingLathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-4194: 2019 — employment: 6,440, median wage: $39,330; 2020 — employment: 6,080, median wage: $41,060; 2021 — employment: 6,100, median wage: $38,430; 2022 — employment: 5,320, median wage: $41,940; 2023 — employment: 6,660, median wage: $46,410; 2025 — employment: 5,600, median wage: $50,060.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Average | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $50,060 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |