Trade licensing overview · machinist
How machinist licensing works — Kansas
How this trade is regulated in Kansas. none-in-pilot-states The framework below describes the national pathway most machinists in Kansas 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 Kansas · 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 Kansas 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 Kansas
Kansas machining is dominated by general aviation and aerospace in Wichita, with Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation (Cessna, Beechcraft), Bombardier Learjet, and Boeing-supplier shops anchoring the largest single-metro aerospace machining cluster in the country. Smaller pockets serve ag equipment, oil-and-gas, and defense across the rest of the state.
Where they work
Wichita is the dominant cluster, anchored by Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, Bombardier, and a Tier-2 supplier tail across south-central Kansas. Kansas City metro (Overland Park, Lenexa) holds general job shops and supplier work. Hutchinson, Salina, and Coffeyville have smaller manufacturing pockets. The western half of the state has thin machining footprint outside of oil-and-gas service shops.
Pay context
BLS OES reports a Kansas median of $48,490 for machinists, on the lower end of the U.S. range despite the Wichita aerospace concentration. The statewide number is pulled down by rural and small-shop work; Wichita IAM-represented aerospace seats commonly pay 15 to 30 percent above the statewide median. Cost of living in Wichita is among the lowest among aerospace-cluster cities in the country.
Training pathway
WSU Tech (Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology) runs the National Center for Aviation Training, one of the most aerospace-aligned community-college machining programs in the country, with direct pipelines to Spirit and Textron. Johnson County Community College serves Kansas City. Hutchinson Community College and Salina Area Technical College run additional programs. IAM District 70 represents many Spirit AeroSystems and Textron machinists.
Considerations
If you want aerospace machining with a clear training-to-IAM-shop pathway and Midwest cost of living, Wichita is a substantial match in the country. If you want geographic flexibility outside Wichita, the rest of Kansas is thin and most career-stage machinists either stay in Wichita or migrate to Texas, Missouri, or Oklahoma. Spirit and Boeing 737 production cycles directly drive demand; ask about backlog visibility.
Kansas machinist snapshot
| MSA | Employed | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Wichita, KS | 1,510 | $47,570 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 1,380 | $54,380 |
| Joplin, MO-KS | 360 | $48,960 |
| Topeka, KS | 180 | $52,340 |
| St. Joseph, MO-KS | 100 | $62,160 |
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.