Trade licensing overview · machinist
How machinist licensing works — Pennsylvania
How this trade is regulated in Pennsylvania. none-in-pilot-states The framework below describes the national pathway most machinists in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania · 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania machining is built on a deep legacy industrial base: aerospace and defense supplier work around Philadelphia (Boeing rotorcraft in Ridley Park, Lockheed Martin in King of Prussia), steel-fabrication and energy-equipment work, food-equipment shops, and a strong tool-and-die tradition across the central and western parts of the state. Pittsburgh-area robotics and additive-manufacturing shops add a newer layer.
Where they work
Philadelphia and the suburbs (Ridley Park, King of Prussia, Lansdale) anchor Boeing rotorcraft and Lockheed Martin defense-electronics machining. The Lehigh Valley holds Tier-2 supplier and instrument shops. Central Pennsylvania (Lancaster, York, Harrisburg) holds food-equipment, steel-fabrication, and supplier work. Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania hold energy-equipment, robotics, and additive-manufacturing-adjacent machining. Erie holds GE Transportation legacy work and supplier shops.
Pay context
BLS OES reports a Pennsylvania median of $52,560 for machinists, in the middle of the U.S. range. Boeing Ridley Park, Lockheed King of Prussia, and central Pennsylvania tool-and-die shops commonly pay above the statewide median. Cost of living statewide is below national averages; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh local wage taxes cut into the headline number for city-resident workers.
Training pathway
Bucks County Community College, Delaware County Community College, Montgomery County Community College, Community College of Allegheny County, Westmoreland County Community College, and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (Lancaster) all run NIMS-aligned machining programs. Thaddeus Stevens is one of the more established public technical colleges for this trade. Pennsylvania Apprenticeship and Training Office registers machinist apprenticeships through specific employers.
Considerations
If you want defense-rotorcraft, steel-fabrication, or tool-and-die machining with deep training infrastructure across both metros and the central Pennsylvania industrial corridor, the state has real depth. If you want low taxes, Pennsylvania's flat state income tax is moderate but local wage taxes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh add to the burden. Verify whether a target employer is in a city with a wage tax before accepting an offer.
Pennsylvania machinist snapshot
| MSA | Employed | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 3,960 | $59,500 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 3,090 | $50,050 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 750 | $57,370 |
| Erie, PA | 740 | $48,940 |
| Lancaster, PA | 670 | $49,390 |
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.