I have been in the industry for 24 years. I started with ordinary lathes, and gradually came into contact with CNC lathes, CNC milling, and CNC machining centers. Later, I was responsible for large-scale precision equipment such as gantry milling and floor boring for a long time. I accumulated a lot of experience in the practical operation, process, and on-site problem handling of all types of machine tools.
Combining my many years of front-line work experience and the current environment of diversion of vocational education and industrial upgrading, today I objectively analyze the current situation, pain points and opportunities of the machining industry in 2026, and provide some reference for peers and young people preparing to enter the industry.
In the past two years, the domestic manufacturing industry has entered a period of profound change. The external market environment and internal industrial structure are being adjusted. Coupled with the continued advancement of the diversion of general vacancies and the change in college entrance examination application trends, the talent structure, profit model, and job demand of the entire mechanical processing industry have undergone tremendous changes.
Judging from the actual situation of daily order taking, employment, and peer communication, the core feature of the current industry is that structural differentiation continues to intensify.
Let’s talk about the low-end processing sector first.
This type of position is mainly about simple workpiece processing and ordinary three-axis machine tool operation. The entry threshold is low and does not require deep technical skills. Newcomers can get started in a short time.
Because of this, a large number of practitioners have poured into this track, and small and medium-sized processing plants have gathered to compete.
In order to compete for limited orders, everyone continues to lower processing prices, and the entire field has fallen into vicious involution.
The factory’s meager profits have directly led to the lack of salary increases for grassroots operators. Many colleagues who stick to basic positions have received fixed salaries all year round. Their development space is very limited and the pressure to survive is increasing.
Looking at the high-end manufacturing field, the situation is completely opposite.
The gantry milling, floor boring, and large CNC machining centers I operate on a daily basis mainly undertake the processing of precision parts and large structural parts. Such workpieces have extremely high requirements for precision, technology, and equipment debugging. Not only do you need to be able to operate machine tools, but you also need to understand programming, tooling, and be able to predict processing risks.
Nowadays, domestically produced axial flux motors, unmanned engineering machinery, intelligent agricultural machinery and other products are being mass-produced one after another. The high-end equipment manufacturing industry chain is constantly improving, and the market has a growing gap for complex technical talents.
Many factory owners complained to me that they were willing to pay high salaries but could not recruit senior technicians who could work independently.
There are a lot of operators who can only press buttons, but experienced craftsmen who can handle complex working conditions, optimize processing techniques, and maintain large-scale precision equipment have always been a scarce resource in the industry.
Changes in the talent supply side are closely tied to vocational education diversion policies.
After the implementation of the general vocational separation system, the enrollment of numerical control technology, mechanical manufacturing, and mechatronics majors in vocational schools in various places has been booming. A large number of young people enter the industry every year, and the reserve talent team of the machinery industry is constantly growing.
But there is a very real problem here: most of the new personnel go to basic operation positions, further exacerbating the involution of the low-end market; and for high-end technical talents with comprehensive capabilities, the training cycle is long and the experience requirements are high, so the gap will exist for a long time.
The income gap is also widening with industry differentiation.
For basic positions that can only complete assembly line repetitive operations, the salary has already reached the ceiling; for technical backbones and senior engineers who are deeply involved in precision machining, equipment operation and maintenance, and process optimization, and can control large equipment such as gantry milling and floor boring, their salaries have steadily increased, and the income level of core positions is far higher than the industry average.
After working in machine tools for twenty years, my biggest feeling is that this industry is no longer an era where you can gain a foothold by working hard and working hard.
In the early years, as long as you were willing to endure hardships, you could gain a firm foothold after a few years; now the industry is transforming towards intelligence, automation, and precision, and new equipment, new systems, and new processes are constantly being updated. If you stop learning, you will soon be eliminated by the industry.
Especially after the popularization of CNC systems and automated production lines, the competitiveness of practitioners with a single skill will become weaker and weaker.
For newcomers who have just entered the industry, especially young people who have graduated from vocational schools and entered the workshop, I would like to give you some practical advice: Don’t be satisfied with simply operating the machine, learn more, ask more questions, and get started while you are young.
If I have the opportunity, I will be exposed to CNC programming, process arrangement, and large-scale machine tool operation, and will delve deeper into the direction of high-end precision machining.
The low-end track is overcrowded, but the high-end track is always reserved for those who are willing to settle and continue to learn.
The country continues to increase its support for the real economy and high-end manufacturing. Domestic machine tools continue to break through technical barriers and go abroad to expand overseas markets. This is a dividend of the times for the entire machinery industry.
Low-end involution is an inevitable stage of industry development and cannot be avoided. However, as long as we find the right direction and polish core technologies, robots can still seize opportunities and find their own way forward.
Having worked in machine tools for many years, what type of equipment do you focus on?
Which positions in the machinery industry do you think have the most development prospects in the future?
Welcome peers to exchange experiences.
