Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
SOC Code: 51-4021
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastics measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products. This career typically requires moderate-term on-the-job training (months to 1 year). With an AI-proof score of 78.3/100, this role has high resilience to automation. Key skills include Operations Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control.
AI-Proof Score: 78.3 — High
💰
Median Salary
$46,980
📈
Job Growth
1.2%
⏱️
Training Time
Moderate-term on-the-job training (months to 1 year)
🎓
Job Zone
Zone 2 / 5
💵
Training Cost
~$5,000
Key Skills
- •Operations Monitoring
- •Operation and Control
- •Quality Control Analysis
- •Monitoring
- •Judgment and Decision Making
- •Critical Thinking
Common Tasks
- ✓Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
- ✓Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
- ✓Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
- ✓Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
- ✓Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
Training & Resources
Why AI-Proof?
- ✅Requires hands-on physical presence and dexterity
- ✅Demands human empathy, judgment, and trust
- ✅Operates in unpredictable, variable environments
- ✅Social and regulatory barriers to full automation