Production · Holland code RC

Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.

Also called: Boot Maker, Inseamer, Side Laster, Stitcher, Cobbler, Insole Department Worker, Shoe Cementer, Shoe Maker.

O*NET 51-6042.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $35,650; Middle half earn $29,090 to $43,090. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Less than a High School Diploma; 46% 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.

Inspect finished products to ensure that shoes have been completed according to specifications.
Align parts to be stitched, following seams, edges, or markings, before positioning them under needles.
Operate or tend machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.
Remove and examine shoes, shoe parts, and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels.
Switch on machines, lower pressure feet or rollers to secure parts, and start machine stitching, using hand, foot, or knee controls.
Fill shuttle spools with thread from a machine's bobbin winder by pressing a foot treadle.
Staple sides of shoes, pressing a foot treadle to position and hold each shoe under the feeder of the machine.
Draw thread through machine guide slots, needles, and presser feet in preparation for stitching, or load rolls of wire through machine axles.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5
Speaking2.8 / 5
Writing2.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Production and Processing3.3 / 5
Administration and Management3.0 / 5
Education and Training2.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.5 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources2.4 / 5
Public Safety and Security2.4 / 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.

Realistic95
Investigative13
Artistic11
Social5
Enterprising9
Conventional48

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)

shoemaker · DE Schuhmacher/Schuhmacherin · FR cordonnier/cordonnière
footwear hand sewer · DE Schuh- und Lederwarenstepper/Schuh- und Lederwarenstepperin · FR bottier/bottière
hand lasting operator · DE Schäftemacher/Schäftemacherin · FR monteur à la main/monteuse à la main
leather goods stitching machine operator · DE Ledersteppmaschinenbediener/Ledersteppmaschinenbedienerin · FR couseur-piqueur de cuirs à la machine/couseuse-piqueuse de cuirs à la machine
footwear production machine operator · DE Schuhmaschinenbediener/Schuhmaschinenbedienerin · FR opérateur de fabrication chaussure/opératrice de fabrication chaussure
footwear stitching machine operator · DE Schuhstepper/Schuhstepperin · FR piqueur en chaussures/piqueuse en chaussures

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Footwear and leather working trades (5412)7,700 employed
Sewing machinists (8146)19,100 employed
Packers, bottlers, canners and fillers (9132)62,500 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 -1.03. 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 (51-6042).

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