Production · Holland code RC

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.

Also called: Cloth Cutter, Leather Cutter, Offline Cutter, Trimmer, Denim Cutter, Fabric Cutter, Finisher, Glass Cutter.

O*NET 51-9031.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $38,020; Middle half earn $34,050 to $47,850. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Less than a High School Diploma; 73% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening2.9 / 5
Speaking2.9 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.8 / 5
Monitoring2.8 / 5
Critical Thinking2.6 / 5
Writing2.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Production and Processing3.3 / 5
Mathematics2.4 / 5
English Language2.2 / 5
Public Safety and Security2.1 / 5
Computers and Electronics1.9 / 5
Administration and Management1.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic87
Investigative4
Artistic20
Social2
Enterprising0
Conventional46

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

clothing cutter · DE Zuschneider (Bekleidung)/Zuschneiderin (Bekleidung) · FR coupeur tailleur/coupeuse tailleuse
leather goods hand cutting operator · DE Lederzuschneider/Lederzuschneiderin · FR coupeur main articles en cuir/coupeuse main articles en cuir
automated cutting machine operator · DE Stanzmaschinenbediener/Stanzmaschinenbedienerin · FR conducteur de machines de coupe automatique en industrie des matériaux souples/conductrice de machines de coupe automatique en industrie des matériaux souples
cutting machine operator · DE Oberlederzurichter/Oberlederzurichterin · FR coupeur en chaussures/coupeuse en chaussures

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Florists (5443)9,100 employed
Footwear and leather working trades (5412)7,700 employed
Tailors and dressmakers (5413)12,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Plant and machine operators and assemblers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€39,630
Netherlands	€37,567
Austria	€37,304
Sweden	€36,005
Germany	€34,433
Ireland	€32,617
France	€28,550
Italy	€28,330
Spain	€24,409
Portugal	€11,309
Poland	€10,259

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.95. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-9031).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test