Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.
- Median pay
- $49,080
- Doing it now
- 4,700
- By 2035
- Down 9.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.
- Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements.
- Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties.
- Install tools in spindles.
- Change worn cutting tools, using wrenches.
- Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices.
- Move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds.
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
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,330
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,180
- Machinists$58,750
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$53,750
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,720
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 $49,080 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.