What You Need to Know About Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker
Career Description Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
A Day in the Life of a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker
- Repair and maintain equipment, objects, or parts, using hand tools.
- Sharpen abrasive grinding tools, using machines and hand tools.
- Trim, scrape, or deburr objects or parts, using chisels, scrapers, and other hand tools and equipment.
- Verify quality of finished workpieces by inspecting them, comparing them to templates, measuring their dimensions, or testing them in working machinery.
- Spread emery powder or other polishing compounds on stone, or wet stone surfaces with hoses, and guide buffing wheels over stone to polish surfaces.
- Remove completed workpieces from equipment or work tables, using hand tools, and place workpieces in containers.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker?
When polled, Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Jewelry Polisher
- Mirror Polisher
- Hand Wood Sander
- Hand Polisher
- Sandstone Inspector-Repairer
Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker Job Outlook
There were about 26,600 jobs for Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker. The BLS estimates 2,100 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker are Colorado, Maryland, and Idaho. Watch out if you plan on working in Rhode Island, Maine, or New Hampshire. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Salary for a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker
The average yearly salary of a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker ranges between $21,500 and $46,980.

Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers who work in Massachusetts, New Jersey, or Maine, make the highest salaries.
How much do Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $30,920 |
Arizona | $34,310 |
Arkansas | $27,990 |
California | $33,260 |
Colorado | $36,680 |
Connecticut | $34,850 |
Florida | $32,130 |
Georgia | $28,800 |
Hawaii | $31,670 |
Illinois | $30,900 |
Indiana | $31,880 |
Iowa | $31,500 |
Kansas | $30,780 |
Kentucky | $31,680 |
Louisiana | $26,860 |
Maine | $41,260 |
Maryland | $35,980 |
Massachusetts | $42,560 |
Michigan | $30,050 |
Minnesota | $36,060 |
Mississippi | $29,240 |
Missouri | $29,990 |
Montana | $31,580 |
Nebraska | $33,910 |
Nevada | $27,760 |
New Hampshire | $29,790 |
New Jersey | $39,090 |
New Mexico | $28,140 |
New York | $36,460 |
North Carolina | $28,450 |
North Dakota | $28,130 |
Ohio | $29,390 |
Oklahoma | $30,340 |
Oregon | $32,010 |
Pennsylvania | $35,830 |
Rhode Island | $36,950 |
South Carolina | $27,970 |
South Dakota | $32,920 |
Tennessee | $29,980 |
Texas | $31,720 |
Utah | $30,750 |
Vermont | $31,930 |
Virginia | $35,720 |
Washington | $33,130 |
West Virginia | $27,300 |
Wisconsin | $29,450 |
What Tools & Technology do Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Data entry software
How to Become a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker
Learn what Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker education requirements there are.

How Long Does it Take to Become a Hand Grinding & Polishing Worker?

Where Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers Are Employed

Hand Grinding and Polishing Workers work in the following industries:

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Are you already one of the many Hand Grinding and Polishing Worker in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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