Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.
- Median pay
- $50,140
- Doing it now
- 25,300
- By 2035
- Down 8.3%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
1,900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Adjust and correct machine set-ups to reduce thicknesses, reshape products, and eliminate product defects.
- Monitor machine cycles and mill operation to detect jamming and to ensure that products conform to specifications.
- Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.
- Start operation of rolling and milling machines to flatten, temper, form, and reduce sheet metal sections and to produce steel strips.
- Set distance points between rolls, guides, meters, and stops, according to specifications.
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
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$53,750
- 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
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550
- Sheet Metal Workers$61,800
- 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 $50,140 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.