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Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders: Career Overview

Operate or tend a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.

The Daily Work of Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders Take On?

The core tasks performed by shoe machine operators and tenders include:

• Inspect finished products to ensure that shoes have been completed according to specifications.
• Align parts to be stitched, following seams, edges, or markings, before positioning them under needles.
• Operate or tend machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.
• Remove and examine shoes, shoe parts, and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels.
• Switch on machines, lower pressure feet or rollers to secure parts, and start machine stitching, using hand, foot, or knee controls.
• Draw thread through machine guide slots, needles, and presser feet in preparation for stitching, or load rolls of wire through machine axles.
• Study work orders or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications, and the types of materials to be used.
• Perform routine equipment maintenance such as cleaning and lubricating machines or replacing broken needles.

What Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders Need to Know

Effective shoe machine operators and tenders rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Core Knowledge

Related Job Titles

This career also goes by job titles like:

• Anchor Operator
• Anchorer
• Ankle Patch Molder
• Apron Trimmer
• Arch Cushion Press Operator
• Archer
• Back Closer
• Back Stayer

How Many Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders Are There?

There are roughly 541,691 shoe machine operators and tenders working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +2.3% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$48,646
Hourly median	$23.39
10th percentile	$32,764
25th percentile	$40,705
75th percentile	$56,587
90th percentile	$64,528

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

How Much Do Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders Make in Different U.S. States?

State	Annual median salary
New York	$46,290
California	$46,240
Wisconsin	$40,780
Maine	$39,830
Minnesota	$38,420
Texas	$24,160

Pay by U.S. Region

Compensation for shoe machine operators and tenders differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Middle Atlantic	$46,290	3.7%	0.29
Far Western US	$46,240	3.7%	0.16
Great Lakes	$40,780	5.6%	1.39
New England	$39,830	35.8%	42.74
Plains States	$38,420	19.8%	5.16
Southwest	$24,160	31.5%	1.72

Top Metro Areas

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$46,860	70
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	CA	$45,670	50
Lewiston-Auburn, ME	ME	$39,830	90
El Paso, TX	TX	$22,320	170

Industry Breakdown

The bulk of shoe machine operators and tenders are found across these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Manufacturing	3,230	$38,160

Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders work in the following industries:

Tools and Technology

• Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
• Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

Work Environment

Daily working conditions for shoe machine operators and tenders reflects the following characteristics:

• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
• Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
• Contact With Others

How to Become Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders

Most shoe machine operators and tenders positions require less than a high school diploma as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
• Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
• Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
• Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners (Supplemental)
• Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials (Supplemental)
• Sewing Machine Operators (Primary-Short)
• Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers (Primary-Short)

Where to Study

Aspiring shoe machine operators and tenders commonly pursue programs in:

Precision Production

1 programs across 1 majors

• Leatherworking & Upholstery

Sources

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 51-6042.00 (Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders).