Metal Machining Setters and Setter-Operators Salary — UK & US Data (2025)
✓ Sourced directly from ONS ASHE · Checked for accuracy at every rebuild · First published: 2026-08-25 · Last updated: 2026-10-25
✓ ONS Verified Rates — Updated July 2026 · Every figure checked against the official source dataset and reviewed by Jordan Morley at each rebuild, not generated or estimated by AI.
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UK Salary Overview
The median salary for a metal machining setters and setter-operators in the UK is £35,394 per year (gross, before tax), based on ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data for 2025 (provisional). There are approximately 48,000 jobs in this occupation across the UK. If you're heading into a pay review or a new offer, a good salary negotiation guide can help you land nearer the top of these ranges.
↑ Pay rank: #157 of 363 UK occupations tracked on this site — higher-paying than roughly 57% of them, and #12 of 36 within skilled trades.
UK Salary Percentiles
Where you land in these bands is partly negotiable — and before signing a new offer it's worth reviewing the paperwork: employment contract templates at LawDepot cover offer letters, NDAs and employment agreements.
| Percentile | Annual (gross) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | £24,393 | Entry level / lowest decile |
| 25th | £29,047 | Early career |
| 50th (median) | £35,394 | Typical pay |
| 75th | £42,591 | Experienced |
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Start $1 Trial →UK Regional Breakdown
| Region | Median salary | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| South West | £36,938 | +4.4% |
| South East | £36,504 | +3.1% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £36,476 | +3.1% |
| Scotland | £36,394 | +2.8% |
| East | £35,836 | +1.2% |
| East Midlands | £35,387 | -0.0% |
| North East | £33,847 | -4.4% |
| London | £33,123 | -6.4% |
| West Midlands | £33,025 | -6.7% |
| North West | £32,985 | -6.8% |
| Wales | £28,496 | -19.5% |
Regions without published data for this occupation are omitted (ONS suppresses small samples).
Salary in Context
Within skilled trades as a whole (36 occupations tracked on this site), metal machining setters and setter-operators pays about 6% above the average median for the category, ranking 12 of 36 by median pay. That's useful context if you're weighing this role against a lateral move within the same broad field, rather than against occupations with a completely different pay structure.
Location makes a real difference here: South West pays around 30% more than Wales for this same occupation, based on the regional breakdown above. If you're able to work remotely or are open to relocating, that gap is often larger than a typical annual pay rise.
The spread between the 25th and 75th percentile — roughly the band most people in this role actually fall into — is about 47%. A narrower spread suggests pay for this role is fairly standardised across employers; a wider one suggests more room to negotiate, or a role where employer type and seniority matter more than average.
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What Affects Pay for Metal Machining Setters and Setter-Operators, and How to Use This Data When Negotiating
The figures above describe the market, not any one employer's ceiling. A few things generally explain where an individual lands within that range:
- Location: Pay for the same job title can vary by tens of thousands depending on region or state — see the location breakdown on this page for this specific role.
- Experience level: The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile mostly reflects years of experience and seniority within the role, rather than employer generosity alone.
- Employer size and sector: Larger organisations and higher-paying sectors tend to sit above the median for a given role; smaller employers and some non-profit or public-sector employers often sit below it.
- Qualifications and certifications: Professional qualifications relevant to a role can shift where someone lands within the percentile range, particularly in regulated or technical occupations.
- How common the role is: Roles with fewer people employed nationally tend to show wider pay variation than high-volume occupations, simply because the underlying sample is smaller and less standardised.
If you're using this page to prepare for a pay conversation, a few practical steps:
- Bring the actual percentile figures from this page into the conversation — a specific, sourced number ("the median for this role is £X") carries more weight than a general sense that you're underpaid.
- If you have several years of experience or a scarce skill set, anchor to the 75th percentile rather than the median — the median describes the middle of the market, not where an experienced hire should expect to land.
- Use the regional or state figure, not the national one, if your employer benchmarks pay nationally but you're based in a higher-paying area — the location breakdown above is the more relevant number to quote.
- Treat total compensation, not just base salary, as the real comparison — pension contributions, bonus structure and benefits can close a gap that base pay alone doesn't show.
- Time the conversation around a review cycle or a clear recent win, and bring both arguments — the market-rate evidence on this page and your own contribution — together rather than either alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average salary for a metal machining setters and setter-operators in the UK?
The UK median is £35,394 per year (gross, before tax), based on ONS ASHE 2025 (provisional) data. The mean is £36,478.
Does location affect metal machining setters and setter-operators pay in the UK?
Yes — regional pay varies materially for this occupation. South West has the highest median at £36,938, while Wales has the lowest at £28,496, a gap of roughly 30%. See the regional breakdown above for every area with published ONS data.
Where This Data Comes From
The UK figures on this page come from the Office for National Statistics' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), the UK government's official annual employer survey of pay — not a self-reported salary site, and not a jobs-board average of advertised (rather than actually paid) salaries. Both are gross figures — before income tax, National Insurance — for the reason that gross pay is what's actually comparable across employers and locations; take-home pay depends on each person's own tax situation.
UK occupations are classified under the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020. See About & methodology for the full data-sourcing notes that apply across every page on this site.
Data: ONS ASHE Table 14/15, 2025 provisional · Page built 2026-10-25