Home › California › Machining & CNC schools
85 schools in California offer machining & CNC-related programs, compared below on official cost, completion, and earnings data. Prefer to earn while you learn? 17 registered apprenticeship programs in California train machining & CNC apprentices — see apprenticeships. Federal program data groups machining & cnc with welding — schools below may offer any of these.
Occupation pay is what working machining & CNC professionals in California earn (all experience levels) — school "earnings" figures above are medians for each school's recent federally-aided students across all its programs, which read lower.
California does not require any license to work as a machinist or CNC operator — none of the DCA's licensing boards cover the trade. Employers typically want a high school diploma plus community-college machining coursework or shop experience, with voluntary NIMS credentials as the common skills benchmark. The state's Division of Apprenticeship Standards registers formal Machinist apprenticeships (about 4 years / 8,000 on-the-job hours) that lead to a state-issued journey-level completion certificate.
Official source: California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) — no board or bureau licenses machinists · Exam: None required by the state. Voluntary NIMS credential exams (written + performance) are the industry standard. · Typical requirement: No state-mandated hours. Typical: high school diploma/GED plus community-college machine tool technology coursework or on-the-job training; NIMS credentials preferred. DAS-registered Machinist apprenticeships run ~4 years (~8,000 OJT hours).
| School | City | Type | Net price / yr | Completion | Earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of the Sequoias | Visalia | public | $480 | 33.7% | $39,092 |
| Imperial Valley College | Imperial | public | $1,115 | 40.2% | $34,487 |
| Hartnell College | Salinas | public | $2,039 | 16.2% | $44,316 |
| Santiago Canyon College | Orange | public | $2,129 | 26.5% | $44,956 |
| Victor Valley College | Victorville | public | $1,947 | 27% | $36,119 |
| San Joaquin Delta College | Stockton | public | $2,407 | 29.7% | $43,212 |
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | public | $2,424 | 30.2% | $41,156 |
| Yuba College | Marysville | public | $2,576 | 26.4% | $39,552 |
| Modesto Junior College | Modesto | public | $2,818 | 27.8% | $42,368 |
| Santa Ana College | Santa Ana | public | $3,133 | 18.9% | $43,552 |
| Taft College | Taft | public | $2,823 | 10.8% | $38,861 |
| Shasta College | Redding | public | $2,878 | 24.5% | $39,269 |
| College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita | public | $3,702 | 29.9% | $49,022 |
| Pasadena City College | Pasadena | public | $3,864 | 32.7% | $43,937 |
| Hacienda La Puente Adult Education | La Puente | public | $3,536 | 82.7% | $39,271 |
| Norco College | Norco | public | $5,169 | 26.2% | $51,206 |
| Las Positas College | Livermore | public | $5,377 | 29.6% | $51,088 |
| Antelope Valley Community College District | Lancaster | public | $3,860 | 29.1% | $36,526 |
| Solano Community College | Fairfield | public | $4,669 | 26.3% | $44,170 |
| De Anza College | Cupertino | public | $6,642 | 43.6% | $56,596 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | public | $5,383 | 25.7% | $42,786 |
| San Diego Mesa College | San Diego | public | $5,814 | 23.1% | $45,120 |
| Butte College | Oroville | public | $5,520 | 36.3% | $41,810 |
| Merced College | Merced | public | $5,040 | 30.4% | $37,815 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | public | $6,331 | 35% | $47,224 |
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | public | $7,653 | 25.3% | $57,072 |
| Palomar College | San Marcos | public | $5,763 | 24.6% | $42,300 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | public | $6,490 | 34.7% | $46,283 |
| Cosumnes River College | Sacramento | public | $5,981 | 21.7% | $42,446 |
| Fullerton College | Fullerton | public | $6,134 | 27.8% | $43,366 |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | public | $5,968 | 29.5% | $41,589 |
| City College of San Francisco | San Francisco | public | $6,906 | 22.5% | $45,805 |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | public | $7,203 | 32.9% | $47,348 |
| CET-Watsonville | Watsonville | private nonprofit | $5,198 | 76.8% | $32,986 |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | public | $6,202 | 24.3% | $38,870 |
| Sierra College | Rocklin | public | $7,245 | 31% | $45,294 |
| Los Medanos College | Pittsburg | public | $7,443 | 31.3% | $42,454 |
| Reedley College | Reedley | public | $6,814 | 30.4% | $38,493 |
| Pomona Unified School District Adult and Career Education | Pomona | public | $6,217 | 83.6% | $34,849 |
| Chabot College | Hayward | public | $9,053 | 24.6% | $48,143 |
| College of the Redwoods | Eureka | public | $6,904 | 25.3% | $36,243 |
| American River College | Sacramento | public | $7,999 | 24.6% | $40,162 |
| Glendale Community College | Glendale | public | $8,365 | 27.3% | $41,540 |
| Riverside City College | Riverside | public | $8,377 | 28.2% | $41,091 |
| San Diego City College | San Diego | public | $7,935 | 20.8% | $38,503 |
| Woodland Community College | Woodland | public | $8,356 | 23.4% | $40,042 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | public | $8,069 | 24.7% | $37,361 |
| Evergreen Valley College | San Jose | public | $12,414 | 27.9% | $53,077 |
| Cuesta College | San Luis Obispo | public | $12,124 | 34.8% | $46,047 |
| Coalinga College | Coalinga | public | $10,477 | 26% | $37,633 |
| College of the Siskiyous | Weed | public | $11,120 | 17.1% | $39,098 |
| Los Angeles Valley College | Valley Glen | public | $12,152 | 22.4% | $42,678 |
| College of Marin | Kentfield | public | $12,351 | 19.3% | $42,654 |
| Columbia College | Sonora | public | $11,316 | 23.9% | $39,035 |
| Napa Valley College | Napa | public | $14,644 | 27.7% | $49,517 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College | Woodland Hills | public | $13,270 | 26.7% | $44,521 |
| Rio Hondo College | Whittier | public | $14,379 | 18.8% | $44,950 |
| Porterville College | Porterville | public | $12,301 | 33.2% | $36,328 |
| CET-El Centro | El Centro | private nonprofit | $11,405 | 91.2% | $32,986 |
| Lassen Community College | Susanville | public | $12,517 | 9.3% | $35,994 |
| Los Angeles Trade Technical College | Los Angeles | public | $12,323 | 20.2% | $35,233 |
| Cabrillo College | Aptos | public | $15,843 | 26% | $44,114 |
| Barstow Community College | Barstow | public | $12,773 | 19.5% | $35,104 |
| San Jose City College | San Jose | public | $16,959 | 24.6% | $46,215 |
| Compton College | Compton | public | $12,647 | 18.7% | $34,181 |
| Bakersfield College | Bakersfield | public | $14,621 | 25.9% | $37,291 |
| Charles A Jones Career and Education Center | Sacramento | public | $16,605 | 66.7% | $41,047 |
| CET-Colton | Colton | private nonprofit | $14,634 | 68.7% | $32,986 |
| Laney College | Oakland | public | $17,110 | 19.7% | $37,282 |
| San Bernardino Valley College | San Bernardino | public | $18,943 | 22.2% | $39,676 |
| CET-San Jose | San Jose | private nonprofit | $16,101 | 79.6% | $32,986 |
| Universal Technical Institute of California Inc | Rancho Cucamonga | private for-profit | $26,360 | 58.9% | $52,873 |
| Universal Technical Institute-Southern California | Long Beach | private for-profit | $27,506 | 68.2% | $52,873 |
| Palo Verde College | Blythe | public | $18,993 | 14.8% | $36,389 |
| Cerro Coso Community College | Ridgecrest | public | $18,306 | 14.7% | $34,963 |
| Universal Technical Institute of Northern California Inc | Sacramento | private for-profit | $28,887 | 68.8% | $48,341 |
| Institute of Technology | Clovis | private for-profit | $23,159 | 66.7% | $35,095 |
| CET-San Diego | San Diego | private nonprofit | $22,035 | 86.5% | $32,986 |
| Summit College | San Bernardino | private for-profit | $29,926 | 66.6% | $40,187 |
| UEI College-Gardena | Gardena | private for-profit | $28,691 | 66.9% | $30,848 |
| Ventura College | Ventura | public | $-982 | 31.4% | $43,430 |
| Advanced Career Institute | Visalia | private for-profit | not reported | 77.5% | not reported |
| The Fab School | Rancho Cucamonga | private for-profit | $37,713 | 96.6% | not reported |
| Tri-Community Adult Education | Covina | public | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Madera Community College | Madera | public | $4,179 | 33.8% | not reported |
Ranking = median earnings 10 years after entry per $1,000 of average yearly net price (methodology). Figures are institution-wide federal medians for each school as a whole — not machining & CNC graduates specifically. Schools without both figures sort last — "not reported" means the federal dataset lacks the value, not that the school is bad.
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