Trade licensing overview · machinist
How machinist licensing works — Maine
How this trade is regulated in Maine. none-in-pilot-states The framework below describes the national pathway most machinists in Maine 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 Maine · 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 Maine 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 Maine
Maine machining is built on Bath Iron Works Navy shipbuilding, Pratt & Whitney engine work in North Berwick, paper-mill and forest-products equipment maintenance, and a small base of medical-device and instrument shops in the Portland metro. Bath Iron Works and Pratt are the two largest single-employer pulls in the state.
Where they work
Bath and the Midcoast anchor Bath Iron Works (General Dynamics) submarine and destroyer machining. North Berwick hosts Pratt & Whitney aero-engine production and a Tier-2 supplier tail in York County. Portland and South Portland hold general job shops and medical-device work. Lewiston-Auburn has small manufacturing pockets. Northern Maine has thin machining footprint outside of paper-mill and forest-products maintenance.
Pay context
BLS OES reports a Maine median of $61,950 for machinists, among the higher in New England outside of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Bath Iron Works IAM-represented seats and Pratt & Whitney North Berwick anchor the upper end of the range. Cost of housing in the Portland metro and southern coastal Maine has risen sharply over the past five years.
Training pathway
Southern Maine Community College (South Portland) runs the most established machining program in the state, with direct pipeline to Pratt & Whitney and Bath Iron Works. Eastern Maine Community College (Bangor), Central Maine Community College (Auburn), and Washington County Community College (Calais) offer related coursework. The Maine Apprenticeship Program registers machinist apprentices through Bath Iron Works and Pratt & Whitney; IAM Local S6 represents Bath Iron Works machinists.
Considerations
If you want submarine, surface-combatant, or aero-engine machining with a clear training-to-IAM-shop pathway, Maine has one of the cleaner entry pipelines in New England. If you want geographic flexibility outside of the Midcoast and York County, Maine is thin. Cost of housing in the Portland metro and winter conditions should factor into relocation. Bath Iron Works contract cycles set tempo for Midcoast supplier shops.
Maine machinist snapshot
| MSA | Employed | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 1,030 | $63,150 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 90 | $55,840 |
| Bangor, ME | 80 | $59,500 |
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.