Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.
- Median pay
- $49,030
- Doing it now
- 8,900
- By 2035
- Down 17.2%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.
- Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.
- Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.
- Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.
- Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.
- Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.
- Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.
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
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$53,750
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,720
- Machinists$58,750
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550
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 $49,030 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.