Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.0), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.0). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 2 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Tasks

All 18 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes. Core · importance 4.4
• Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish. Core · importance 4.3
• 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. Core · importance 4.3
• Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns. Core · importance 4.3
• Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut. Core · importance 4.3
• Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes. Core · importance 4.3
• Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products. Core · importance 4.2
• Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines. Core · importance 4.2
• Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade. Core · importance 4.2
• Fold or shape materials before or after cutting them. Core · importance 4.2
• Lower table-mounted cutters such as knife blades, cutting wheels, or saws to cut items to specified sizes. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Adjust guides and stops to control depths and widths of cuts. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Replace or sharpen dulled cutting tools such as saws. Core · importance 3.9
• Count or weigh and bundle items. Supplemental · importance 3.8
• Clean, treat, buff, or polish finished items, using grinders, brushes, chisels, and cleaning solutions and polishing materials. Supplemental · importance 3.7
• Route items to provide cutouts for parts, using portable routers, grinders, and hand tools. Supplemental · importance 3.6
• Transport items to work or storage areas, using carts. Supplemental · importance 3.3

Work activities

• Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
• Trim excess material from workpieces.
• Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools.
• Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
• Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.
• Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
• Count finished products or workpieces.
• Weigh finished products.
• Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
• Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
• Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
• Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
• Clean workpieces or finished products.
• Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
• Operate grinding equipment.
• Measure materials to mark reference points, cutting lines, or other indicators.
• Position patterns on equipment, materials, or workpieces.
• Operate cutting equipment.
• Replace worn equipment components.
• Sharpen cutting or grinding tools.
• Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.
• Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Abilities

Knowledge

Essential skills

Transferable skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Typical entry-level education

No formal educational credential · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Interest areas

Work styles

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.

• Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9032.00 Compare →
• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand · 51-9022.00 Compare →
• Sewing Machine Operators · 51-6031.00 Compare →
• Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood · 51-7041.00 Compare →
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · 51-7042.00 Compare →
• Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-6062.00 Compare →
• Machine Feeders and Offbearers · 53-7063.00 Compare →
• Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders · 51-6042.00 Compare →
• Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · 51-9195.00 Compare →
• Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4031.00 Compare →
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4033.00 Compare →
• Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners · 51-4194.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
• AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
• ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
• IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
• Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
• Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-51-9031-00,
  title  = {Cutters and Trimmers, Hand},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9031-00}
}