Trade licensing overview · machinist
How machinist licensing works — Minnesota
How this trade is regulated in Minnesota. none-in-pilot-states The framework below describes the national pathway most machinists in Minnesota 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 Minnesota · 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota
Minnesota machining is built on medical device in the Twin Cities (Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Stryker, 3M), agricultural and construction equipment, food-equipment shops, and a steady base of supplier and instrument work. The Twin Cities medical-device cluster is one of the densest in the country and pulls a meaningful share of skilled machinist labor toward Swiss-screw and small-precision work.
Where they work
The Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Arden Hills) anchor medical-device and instrument machining. Rochester ties into Mayo Clinic-adjacent precision work. Mankato and southern Minnesota host ag-equipment and food-equipment shops. Duluth and the Iron Range have steel-related and mining-equipment machining. The St. Cloud area holds smaller supplier shops. Western Minnesota is thin outside of ag-equipment shops.
Pay context
BLS OES reports a Minnesota median of $59,860 for machinists. Twin Cities medical-device and Swiss-precision shops commonly pay above the statewide median; rural ag-equipment shops typically below. Cost of housing in the Twin Cities sits modestly above national averages and the state income tax cuts into take-home.
Training pathway
Hennepin Technical College, Dunwoody College of Technology (Minneapolis), Anoka Technical College, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and South Central College (Mankato) all run NIMS-aligned machining and CNC programs. Dunwoody is one of the more established private nonprofit technical schools in the country for this trade. Minnesota Apprenticeship registers machinist programs through specific employers including medical-device makers.
Considerations
If you want medical-device or Swiss-precision machining in a Midwest cost structure, the Twin Cities is a substantial match in the country. If you want production-manufacturing depth tied to automotive or aerospace primes, Minnesota is leaner. Winter conditions, state income tax, and Twin Cities housing should factor into total-cost math against neighboring Wisconsin or the Dakotas.
Minnesota machinist snapshot
| MSA | Employed | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 11,340 | $60,470 |
| St. Cloud, MN | 510 | $60,510 |
| Rochester, MN | 410 | $59,630 |
| Duluth, MN-WI | 200 | $59,820 |
| Mankato, MN | 160 | $60,330 |
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.