Machining

What the Numbers Say About Machining

Federal agencies employ 3,136 people in the Machining occupation (OPM code 3414), accounting for 0.1% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -1.3% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Machining pays $77,718 per year on average, 29.3% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 2.2% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 9.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

The Machine Tool Work Family family (code 34) groups Machining together with 2 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Machining postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Machining makes up 82.6% of the 3,795 employees across the Machine Tool Work Family family, ranking #1 of 3 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Machine Tool Work Family occupations.