Trade licensing overview · machinist
How machinist licensing works — Georgia
How this trade is regulated in Georgia. none-in-pilot-states The framework below describes the national pathway most machinists in Georgia follow.
Machinists are not state-licensed in the United States. Competency is demonstrated through NIMS (National Institute for Metalworking Skills) credentials, employer-administered machining and inspection tests, or completion of a DOL-registered Machinist apprenticeship.
Machinist wages in Georgia · BLS OES A01 2024
Wages are state-level annual figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (A01 2024). Specific machinist earnings in Georgia vary by metro area, employer type, union membership, and years of experience. Verify the current state and metro figures on the BLS OES site (bls.gov/oes).
What this trade actually looks like in Georgia
Georgia machining serves Lockheed Martin's F-35 and C-130 production in Marietta, Gulfstream business-jet manufacturing in Savannah, Kia and Hyundai automotive in West Point and Bryan County, and a broad job-shop base across metro Atlanta. The state has a stronger aerospace and EV-supplier machining footprint than most Southeast peers, with hiring concentrated in Atlanta and Savannah.
Where they work
Marietta and the Atlanta northwest suburbs anchor Lockheed F-35 and C-130 machining and a Tier-2 supplier tail. Savannah hosts Gulfstream and a growing Hyundai Metaplant supplier network in Bryan County. West Point on the Alabama line is the Kia auto-supplier cluster. Augusta has defense-adjacent machining tied to Fort Eisenhower (formerly Gordon). Macon and Albany hold smaller pockets. Statewide, production and aerospace work outweigh tool-and-die.
Pay context
BLS OES reports a Georgia median of $49,420 for machinists, near the lower end of Southeast peers. Lockheed Marietta IAM-represented seats and Gulfstream Savannah commonly pay well above this median; auto-supplier work in West Point and rural job shops typically below. Cost of living in Atlanta has risen but remains below West Coast aerospace metros.
Training pathway
Chattahoochee Technical College, Central Georgia Technical, Savannah Technical, and Gwinnett Technical all run NIMS-aligned machining programs. The Technical College System of Georgia operates Quick Start, a workforce-training arm that builds custom CNC training for specific employers. Georgia Quick Start and HOPE Career Grants fund much of the tuition. Registered apprenticeships exist through Lockheed, Gulfstream, and individual auto suppliers.
Considerations
If you want aerospace or auto-supplier work in a no-state-income-tax-on-Social-Security structure with sunbelt cost of living, Georgia is competitive. If you want union representation as a default, Georgia is right-to-work and IAM density is concentrated at Lockheed Marietta and a few Gulfstream operations. Atlanta commutes are long; verify shop location relative to housing before accepting an offer.
Georgia machinist snapshot
| MSA | Employed | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 2,940 | $52,810 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 660 | $50,730 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 630 | $62,300 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 450 | $41,400 |
| Savannah, GA | 310 | $50,290 |
STATE LICENSE STATUS
No pilot state (TX, CA, FL, NY, IL) issues a person-level machinist license. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies machinists under SOC 51-4041 and lists typical entry through long-term on-the-job training, apprenticeship, or community-college machine-tool programs (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/machinists-and-tool-and-die-makers.htm). Because there is no statutory license, hiring shops typically verify skill through a bench test, print-reading and GD&T questions, and (increasingly) NIMS credential records (https://www.nims-skills.org). ITAR-regulated aerospace and defense shops add employer-specific background and citizenship checks per 22 CFR 120-130; those are job requirements, not state licenses.
NIMS CREDENTIALS
NIMS (National Institute for Metalworking Skills) issues 52 stackable, ANSI-accredited credentials covering Machining Level I, II, and III; CNC Milling and CNC Turning Operator and Programmer; Tool & Die; Mold Making; Stamping; Grinding; and Industrial Technology Maintenance (https://www.nims-skills.org/credentialing). Each credential requires an online theory exam plus a performance/part-inspection component verified by a NIMS-credentialed evaluator (https://www.nims-skills.org). Machining Level I is the recognized entry credential and is used by many registered apprenticeships as a first-year benchmark. NIMS credentials are accepted as Related Technical Instruction (RTI) evidence by many DOL-registered Machinist programs (https://www.apprenticeship.gov). The International Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (IMTMA, https://www.imtma.org) and the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA, https://www.ntma.org) both reference NIMS as the industry-standard skills benchmark.
CNC PROGRAMMING
CNC (computer numerical control) programming is the core skill for production machining. G-code and M-code fundamentals (ISO 6983 / EIA RS-274) are the baseline language read by Fanuc, Siemens, Haas, and Mazak controls (https://www.iso.org/standard/34608.html). Most production programs are generated in CAM software: Mastercam (https://www.mastercam.com), Autodesk Fusion 360 (https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360), and SolidWorks CAM (https://www.solidworks.com) are the most commonly listed in BLS machinist job postings (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/machinists-and-tool-and-die-makers.htm). 5-axis simultaneous programming is typical in aerospace structural and impeller work and is covered by NIMS CNC Milling Programmer Level III (https://www.nims-skills.org/credentialing). NIMS also offers a stand-alone Job Planning, Benchwork, and Layout credential that is a prerequisite for Machining Levels II and III.
APPRENTICESHIP PATHWAY
The U.S. Department of Labor registers Machinist apprenticeships under RAPIDS occupation code 0296 with a typical term of 8,000 on-the-job-training hours plus 576 hours of Related Technical Instruction; Tool and Die Maker (RAPIDS 0295) typically requires 10,000 OJT hours (https://www.apprenticeship.gov/apprenticeship-job-finder). Community-college Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in Machine Tool Technology are a common parallel or substitute pathway and frequently articulate into NIMS credentials. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM, https://goiam.org) represents machinists in parts of aerospace, defense, and rail, though most U.S. production machinists work in non-union shops. NTMA and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) both sponsor employer-led apprenticeships registered through DOL.
ADJACENT ROLES
Tool-and-die maker is the most demanding adjacent role, requiring roughly 10,000 OJT hours and tight-tolerance grinding, heat-treat, and fixture-building experience (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/machinists-and-tool-and-die-makers.htm). CNC programmer roles split into shop-floor edit/offset programmers and off-line CAM programmers; NIMS CNC Milling and CNC Turning Programmer credentials cover both (https://www.nims-skills.org/credentialing). Manual mill and lathe operator positions are still common in prototype, R&D, and repair shops. Quality-control and gauge inspector roles require formal GD&T training per ASME Y14.5-2018, Dimensioning and Tolerancing (https://www.asme.org/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/y14-5-dimensioning-tolerancing); ASME also publishes Y14.5.1 Mathematical Definition of Dimensioning and Tolerancing Principles. AS9100 (aerospace) and ISO 13485 (medical device) quality-system training are often required before a machinist is cleared to run regulated parts.