Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Grinding and polishing workers, hand
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.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 44% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -19.2% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $42,660
- Job growth to 2035
- -19.2%
- Openings a year
- 700
- People doing it (2025)
- 10,800
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
- Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products
- Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects
- Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment
- Maintain tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Verify quality of finished workpieces by inspecting them, comparing them to templates, measuring their dimensions, or testing them in working machinery.
- Grind, sand, clean, or polish objects or parts to correct defects or to prepare surfaces for further finishing, using hand tools and power tools.
- Measure and mark equipment, objects, or parts to ensure grinding and polishing standards are met.
- Trim, scrape, or deburr objects or parts, using chisels, scrapers, and other hand tools and equipment.
- Mark defects, such as knotholes, cracks, and splits, for repair.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as automation increases capacity and reduces the need for as many manual workers.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plasticHuman edge, steady, Index 59, +0.6%
- Furniture finishersHuman edge, steady, Index 65, -3.5%
- Layout workers, metal and plasticHuman edge, steady, Index 50, -3.4%
- Dental laboratory techniciansHuman edge, steady, Index 64, -5.9%
Also known as: Chipper, Finisher, Grinder, Polisher, Buffer, Casting Finisher, Jewelry Polisher, Knife Grinder.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.