Machining
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Machining occupation series (code 3414), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Machining is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 2,942 employees (0.2% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Machine Tool Work Family family. At an average salary of $92,123 it pays below the federal average, and headcount edged down from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -0.5%
- Pay change
- +0.6%
- Avg tenure
- 11.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 4
FedScope read on Machining (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. As for pay, the latest move was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.
The Machine Tool Work Family family (code 34) groups Machining together with 3 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Machining postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Machine Tool Work Family family. Across the Machine Tool Work Family family, 3,567 employees work in 4 occupations; Machining is 82.5% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (67th percentile) of pay among Machine Tool Work Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Machining pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$92,123
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-21.5%
Where Machining ranks on federal pay
Machining earns more on average than 47% of federal occupation series (256 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Machining sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Machining.
Related Occupations in Machine Tool Work Family
3 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toolmaking | 394 | $87,012 | 15.3 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Machine Tool Work | 230 | $91,088 | 17.2 yrs |
| Die Sinking | 1 | n/a | 19.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Machining outside the Machine Tool Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (2,942 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($92,123 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Machining pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Machine Tool Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Machining postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.