Occupations · Production
Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters
Perform precision assembling or adjusting, within narrow tolerances, of timing devices such as digital clocks or timing devices with electrical or electronic components.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-2061.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 16% between 2019 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Change timing weights on balance wheels to correct deficient timing.
- Assemble and install components of timepieces to complete mechanisms, using watchmakers' tools and loupes.
- Adjust sizes or positioning of timepiece parts to achieve specified fit or function, using calipers, fixtures, and loupes.
- Observe operation of timepiece parts and subassemblies to determine accuracy of movement, and to diagnose causes of defects.
- Test operation and fit of timepiece parts and subassemblies, using electronic testing equipment, tweezers, watchmakers' tools, and loupes.
- Mount hairsprings and balance wheel assemblies between jaws of truing calipers.
- Replace specified parts to repair malfunctioning timepieces, using watchmakers' tools, loupes, and holding fixtures.
- Disassemble timepieces such as watches, clocks, and chronometers so that repairs can be made.
- Clean and lubricate timepiece parts and assemblies, using solvents, buff sticks, and oil.
- Estimate spaces between collets and first inner coils to determine if spaces are within acceptable limits.
- Bend inner coils of springs away from or toward collets, using tweezers, to locate centers of collets in centers of springs, and to correct errors resulting from faulty colleting of coils.
- Turn wheels of calipers and examine springs, using loupes, to determine if center coils appear as perfect circles.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2008-06
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2008-06
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2020
Comparing O*NET release 25.1 (2020-11-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| precision instrument assembler | 7311.4 | close |
| clock and watchmaker | 7311.1 | broader |
| watch and clock repairer | 7311.6 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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