Engraving Operator
An engraving operator can expect a salary range from $30,252 to $47,995 depending on his or her experience. They are specialists who are generally employed by printing presses and they are responsible for preparing the metal plates that are used for printing books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, leaflets etc. They use special engraving tools for their job. Knowledge of printing is a pre-requisite. The engraving operator generally reports to the manager or supervisor of the press they are working for.
At times they might interact with graphic artists, proofreaders and the other personnel that constitutes a publishing house. Since they work directly under the supervision of the manager or supervisor, they do not have to exercise their independent judgment for their basic job functions. Educational qualification for engraving operators is a high school diploma. They should also have a 2 years or more experience, which is gained by working as an apprentice. He or she is expected to have common knowledge about the practices, procedures and concepts of his field of work.
They are supposed to prepare the plate that is used for printing various stuffs like business cards greeting cards, letterheads, publications, magazines, newspapers etc. There are no special working hours and engraving operators might have to work at odd hours depending on the nature of their job. Some jobs require fast execution and precision where there is no scope for failure, for example, working for daily newspapers where there is a strict time limit and there is no scope for errors.