What You'll Do

  • Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
  • Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
  • Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
  • Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade.
  • Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
  • Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
  • Count or weigh and bundle items.
  • Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
  • Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.
  • Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks.

Essential Skills

Active Listening 2.88/5
Speaking 2.88/5
Time Management 2.88/5
Reading Comprehension 2.75/5
Monitoring 2.75/5
Social Perceptiveness 2.75/5
Judgment and Decision Making 2.75/5
Critical Thinking 2.62/5
Complex Problem Solving 2.5/5
Coordination 2.25/5
Service Orientation 2.25/5
Operations Monitoring 2.25/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Artist: Creating original work and expressing ideas feels natural.

Common styles

Attention to Detail, Dependability, Cautiousness, Perseverance, Integrity

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Manual Dexterity 3.5/5
Near Vision 3.38/5
Information Ordering 3.12/5
Arm-Hand Steadiness 3.12/5
Oral Comprehension 3.0/5
Category Flexibility 3.0/5
Control Precision 3.0/5
Static Strength 3.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Microsoft Excel Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Word

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.61/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.34/5)
  • Cautiousness (High importance: 4.17/5)
  • Perseverance (High importance: 3.45/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 3.4/5)

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Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for this career. Training is provided on the job.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Aluminum Sheet Cutter Basting Puller Belt Splicer Bright Cutter Bucker Buttoner Buttonhole Maker Buttonhole Marker Candle Cutter Cane Cutter Carpet Cutter Chalk Cutter Clipper Cloth Cutter Cotton Dispatcher Cripple Worker Cut Off Worker Denim Cutter Diagrammer Dinker Embroidery Operator Fabric Cutter Fabric Shearer Fabric Trimmer Fine Grade Operator Fine Hairer Fine Unhairer Finisher Finishing Trimmer Flesher Fur Cutter Fur Plucker Fur Trimmer Glass Cutter Glass Finisher Gold Cutter Hairspring Cutter Hand Binder Cutter Hand Candy Cutter Hand Cloth Cutter Hand Coper Hand Cutter Hand Endband Cutter Hand Fabric Cutter Hand Hose Cutter Hand Leather Trimmer Hand Mounter Hand Outside Cutter Hand Rounder Hand Router Operator Hand Slitter Hand Splitter Hand Tire Trimmer Hand Welt-Butter Hide Cleaner Hide Trimmer Hot Knife Cutter Hot Knife Foxing Cutter Lacing Cutter Lacing String Cutter Lapper Leather Cutter Level Vial Marker Mat Cutter Mesh Cutter Mica Sizer Mica Splitter Mold Bunch Trimmer Mold Cutter Offline Cutter Pearler Pompom Maker Portable Machine Cutter Portable Router Operator Portable Sawyer Power Chisel Operator Power Hair Clipper Preform Plate Maker Remnants Cutter Retail Trade Carpet Cutter Ribbon Cutter Ripper Rock Splitter Rolled Glass Crosscutter Rotary Shear Cutter Rug Clipper Rug Cutter Sail Cutter Sample Cutter Scarrer Seamer Shaper Sheet Metal Pattern Cutter Shirt Trimmer Silk Screen Cutter Silkscreen Cutter Skinner Slitter Slot Router Spreader Stonework Tracer Stripper Target Trimmer Template Cutter Thread Clipper Thread Cutter Thread Trimmer Trimmer Veneer Sample Maker Wet Machine Cutter Wire Cutter Wire Screen Shearer Wire Screen Trimmer Wood Hacker

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.