Program and run CNC (computer numerical control) machines that cut metal to a hundredth of a millimetre.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Journeyperson machinist
$62,000
Operator or apprentice
$44,000
Programmer or aerospace
$86,000
Job Bank's national median is $30 an hour, about $62,000 a year full time. Aerospace, defence and unionized auto plants pay at the top; small job shops running simple parts pay at the bottom.
$21 to $24 an hour
Machine operator or first-year apprentice
About $44,000 a year. Operators who only load parts and press start earn the least. Pay climbs once you can set up a job and edit programs.
$38 to $42 an hour
About $79,000 to $86,000 a year
Red Seal machinists who program multi-axis machines, run a tool room or work aerospace parts earn the most. Night shift premiums and overtime add more.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The apprenticeship route is paid work, so the low end is a set of measuring tools and boots built up over time plus about $150 to $200 for the Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal exam, with the employer covering the in school levels. The high end is a one or two year college CNC (computer numerical control) certificate or diploma paid up front, a fuller set of measuring tools, and the same exam fees. The college first route costs more but gets you onto a shop floor sooner. In school levels on the apprenticeship side are only a few hundred dollars each.
Apprentices are paid on the job. The college-first route costs more up front but is quicker to start.
Health and dental
Standard at medium and large manufacturers.
Shift premiums
Many shops run two or three shifts. Nights pay extra.
Union pension
At auto, aerospace and rail plants.
Paid upgrading
Employers often pay for programming courses on new software.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Two routes: a college program that gets you running machines fast, or a full machinist apprenticeship that ends in a Red Seal.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Math, physics and any manufacturing or shop class. Blueprint reading starts here.
College program (fast route)
1 to 2 years
A one-year CNC (computer numerical control) certificate or two-year precision machining diploma. You leave able to set up and run machines.
Or apprentice as a machinist
About 4 years
Ontario's General Machinist trade is 8,000 hours: 7,280 on the job and 720 in school over three levels. College time can count toward it.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the provincial machinist exam and add the Red Seal endorsement, recognized across Canada.
Programmer
1 to 3 years on the job
Learn CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) software to write the programs instead of just running them. This is where pay jumps.
Math
Trigonometry and geometry every day: feeds, speeds, angles and offsets.
Manufacturing technology or shop
Time on a lathe or mill before you apply.
Drafting or technological design
Reading drawings and 3D models.
Computer studies
Programming logic transfers directly to machine code.
No province requires a licence to run a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. Machinist is a voluntary Red Seal trade, designated in 1965, and Ontario's General Machinist certificate never needs renewing. Ontario also had a separate CNC Programmer apprenticeship, but it is now inactive and no longer takes new registrations, so programming is learned on the job or in college. Employers in aerospace and defence often require the Red Seal for senior roles.
Things you don't need, but that help.
CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) programming
Mastercam, Fusion or similar. Programmers out-earn operators by a wide margin.
Multi-axis machining
Five-axis mills and mill-turn centres are complex and few people run them well.
Tool and die or mould making
Related Red Seal trades with higher pay and steadier work.
Quality inspection
CMM (coordinate measuring machine) programming and GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing) lead into quality roles.
Attention to detail
A thousandth of an inch is the difference between a part and scrap.
Patience with setup
Half the job is preparing the machine, not watching it cut.
Home projects
3D printing or a hobby lathe shows you think in parts and tolerances.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Pull the job traveller and drawing. Load the program, mount the fixture, set the tools and touch off the zero points. Run the first part slowly, measure everything with micrometres and gauges, adjust the offsets. Then run the batch while watching for tool wear and chips, checking parts every few pieces. Between batches you deburr, clean the machine and set up the next job. Shops run early shifts and night shifts, and the machines are loud.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Machinist was designated a Red Seal trade in 1965, in the program's first years. It is recognized in every province and territory.
Numerical control was invented in the 1950s to machine aircraft parts from punched tape. The letter codes CNC (computer numerical control) machines read today still descend from that system.
Skilled Trades Ontario listed the CNC (computer numerical control) Programmer apprenticeship as inactive after a viability review, so programming is now learned in college or on the shop floor rather than through a registered apprenticeship.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.