Their work generally is not as active as that of the workers who operate the machine tools. Employment Tool programmers held about 8,100 jobs in 1990. Almost all work for manufacturing firms or small machining shops that produce durable goods such as aircraft, industrial machinery, and instruments. Most jobs for tool programmers are in large metropolitan areas where most factories and machine shops are located. Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Tool programmers learn their jobs through a combination of work experience and vocational study.
Employers prefer to promote or hire skilled machinists or machine operators for programmer jobs.
Because programming methods differ among the brands of numerically controlled machine tools, manufacturers usually provide training in programming for employees of firms that purchase their machines. Although this is not generally considered an entry level job, some employers will hire people without machining experience if they have completed vocational school or junior college courses in tool programming and demonstrate the ability to learn machine operations. Those who have completed high school courses and have displayed ability in mathematics, blueprint reading, metalworking, data processing, physics, and drafting will have the best chance of landing a job. Tool programmers can advance to supervisory jobs or transfer to skilled machining jobs such as tool designer. Job Outlook Employment of tool programmers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2000.