Best Machinist programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments.
9 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 120 people a year. The job pays a median of $57,140 in Florida across about 8,400 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in Florida that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0503In Florida → | 120 | 100.0% | 9 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
Top 9 schools in Florida
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 9 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange Technical College - South Campus Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $39,539 | 35% | — | — |
| 2 | Daytona State College Daytona Beach, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $31,448 | 43% | — | — |
| 3 | Atlantic Technical College Coconut Creek, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | — | 65% | — | — |
| 4 | Lake Technical College Eustis, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $33,687 | 47% | — | — |
| 5 | Immokalee Technical College Immokalee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | — | 86% | — | — |
| 6 | Manatee Technical College Bradenton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $41,602 | 64% | — | — |
| 7 | Pinellas Technical College - Clearwater Clearwater, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $40,795 | 52% | — | — |
| 8 | Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | $41,518 | 41% | — | — |
| 9 | Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Machine Shop Technology/Assistant | — | 52% | — | — |
All 9 schools in Florida
Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Technical College - South Campus | Orlando | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Daytona State College | Daytona Beach | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Atlantic Technical College | Coconut Creek | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Lake Technical College | Eustis | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Immokalee Technical College | Immokalee | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Manatee Technical College | Bradenton | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Pinellas Technical College - Clearwater | Clearwater | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Palm Beach State College | Lake Worth | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Eastern Florida State College | Melbourne | Public | 1 | 1 |
What machinists earn in Florida
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $58,750. Florida pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Florida
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Machinists page.
How to become a Machinist
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Florida
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Machinists2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 48.0501Machine Tool Technology/Machinist
- 48.0503Machine Shop Technology/Assistant
Common questions
Answers for people weighing machinists programs in Florida.
What degree do you need to become a Machinist?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Machine Shop Technology/Assistant, which awarded 120 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Machinist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Precision Metal Working. Together they graduate about 120 people a year in Florida.
How much do machinists earn in Florida?+
The median is $57,140 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.7% below the U.S. median of $58,750. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for machinists growing?+
BLS projects a +0.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 29,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+
9 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do machinists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Machinist, Tool Room Machinist, Maintenance Machinist, CNC Machinist (Computer Numeric Controlled Machinist) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-4041.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card