Production · Holland code RAC

Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing

Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns.

Also called: Carver, Polisher, Stone Carver, Stone Cutter, Cutter, Granite Cutter, Granite Stone Cutter, Sandblast Carver.

O*NET 51-9195.03

At a glance

US median annual pay: $46,170; Middle half earn $39,280 to $53,000. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 66% 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.

Load sandblasting equipment with abrasives, attach nozzles to hoses, and turn valves to admit compressed air and activate jets.
Shape, trim, or touch up roughed-out designs with appropriate tools to finish carvings.
Verify depths and dimensions of cuts or carvings to ensure adherence to specifications, blueprints, or models, using measuring instruments.
Move fingers over surfaces of carvings to ensure smoothness of finish.
Lay out designs or dimensions from sketches or blueprints on stone surfaces, freehand or by transferring them from tracing paper, using scribes or chalk and measuring instruments.
Drill holes and cut or carve moldings and grooves in stone, according to diagrams and patterns.
Remove or add stencils during blasting to create differing cut depths, intricate designs, or rough, pitted finishes.
Guide nozzles over stone, following stencil outlines, or chip along marks to create designs or to work surfaces down to specified finishes.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.9 / 5
Speaking2.9 / 5
Monitoring2.9 / 5
Active Learning2.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mathematics3.6 / 5
Production and Processing3.6 / 5
Mechanical3.2 / 5
English Language3.1 / 5
Administration and Management3.1 / 5
Design3.1 / 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.

Realistic100
Investigative15
Artistic47
Social4
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)

sculptor · DE Bildhauer/Bildhauerin · FR sculpteur/sculptrice
stonemason · DE Steinmetz/Steinmetzin · FR maçon pierre/maçonne pierre
stone engraver · DE Steingraveur/Steingraveurin · FR graveur sur pierre/graveuse sur pierre
precious stone setter · DE Edelsteinfasser/Edelsteinfasserin · FR sertisseur/sertisseuse
precious stone cutter · DE Edelsteinschleifer/Edelsteinschleiferin · FR lapidaire pierres fines et précieuses
metal engraver · DE Graveur/Graveurin · FR graveur sur métal/graveuse sur métal

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Stonemasons and related trades (5312)9,900 employed
Artists (3411)64,500 employed
Other skilled trades n.e.c. (5449)35,600 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 “Craft and related trades workers”. 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, Craft and related trades workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,086
Germany	€38,638
Austria	€38,194
Sweden	€37,856
Netherlands	€37,077
Ireland	€36,098
France	€27,145
Italy	€26,488
Spain	€22,817
Portugal	€11,142
Poland	€10,099

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 -1.18. 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 (51-9195).

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