Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- Median pay
- $46,330
- Doing it now
- 171,000
- By 2035
- Down 10.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
13,200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.
- Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.
- Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.
- Load workpieces, plastic material, or chemical solutions into machines.
- Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.
- Test and adjust machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Precision Metal WorkingSee 4 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,180
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$53,750
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,720
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550
- Sheet Metal Workers$61,800
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$50,620
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $46,330 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.