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Date: 10/09/2025

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers

Develop programs to control machining or processing of materials by automatic machine tools, equipment, or systems. May also set up, operate, or maintain equipment.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Write programs in the language of a machine's controller and store programs on media, such as punch tapes, magnetic tapes, or disks.
    • Analyze job orders, drawings, blueprints, specifications, printed circuit board pattern films, and design data to calculate dimensions, tool selection, machine speeds, and feed rates.
    • Sort shop orders into groups to maximize materials utilization and minimize machine setup time.
    • Draw machine tool paths on pattern film according to guidelines for tool speed and efficiency, using colored markers.
    • Write instruction sheets and cutter lists for a machine's controller to guide setup and encode numerical control tapes.
    • Perform preventative maintenance or minor repairs on machines.
    • Observe machines on trial runs or conduct computer simulations to ensure that programs and machinery will function properly and produce items that meet specifications.
    • Modify existing programs to enhance efficiency.
    • Revise programs or tapes to eliminate errors, and retest programs to check that problems have been solved.
    • Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes.
    • Determine the sequence of machine operations, and select the proper cutting tools needed to machine workpieces into the desired shapes.
    • Determine reference points, machine cutting paths, or hole locations, and compute angular and linear dimensions, radii, and curvatures.
    • Enter computer commands to store or retrieve parts patterns, graphic displays, or programs that transfer data to other media.
    • Determine reference points, machine cutting paths, or hole locations, and compute angular and linear dimensions, radii, and curvatures.
    • Enter coordinates of hole locations into program memories by depressing pedals or buttons of programmers.
    • Compare encoded tapes or computer printouts with original part specifications and blueprints to verify accuracy of instructions.
    • Prepare geometric layouts from graphic displays, using computer-assisted drafting software or drafting instruments and graph paper.

    Skills

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    N/A
    Workplace Documents
    N/A
    Graphic Literacy
    N/A

    Abilities

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    Knowledge

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 59850/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 28.77/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,330
    • Yearly Projected Openings 230

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Independence
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Achievement/Effort
    • Persistence

    Tools

    • Angle gauge
    • Automatic lathe or chucking machine
    • Calipers
    • Comparators
    • Coordinate measuring machines CMM
    • Dial indicator or dial gauge
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Height gauges
    • Hole gauge
    • Hydraulic press brake
    • Laser cutting machine
    • Metal cutters
    • Metallurgical microscopes
    • Micrometers
    • Pin gauge
    • Power grinders
    • Precision surface plate
    • Profile gauge
    • Protractors
    • Radius gauge
    • Sine bar
    • Squares
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Thread pitch gauge
    • Traveling column milling machine
    • Turret lathe
    • Vertical turning center
    • Wire gauge

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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