Compare Occupations

	Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	Maintenance Workers, Machinery	Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
SUMMARY	70% High Risk	38% Low Risk	53% Moderate Risk	70% High Risk	69% High Risk
JOB SCORE	2.9/10	5.2/10	4.0/10	2.2/10	3.3/10
POLLING	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 29 votes)	38% (Low Risk, Based on 94 votes)	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet
GROWTH by year 2034	2.0%	1.2%	-2.8%	-1.1%	3.0%
WAGES	$45,130 or $21.70 per hour	$71,190 or $34.22 per hour	$60,500 or $29.08 per hour	$44,980 or $21.62 per hour	$47,010 or $22.60 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	57,310	685,140	56,540	14,900	16,160
SNOWFLAKE [?] The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
DESCRIPTION	Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.	Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.	Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.	Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form continuous filaments from synthetic materials, such as liquid polymer, rayon, and fiberglass.	Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.

Compare Occupations Side by Side

Curious how automation and AI could affect your career? Our comparison tool lets you view two or more jobs side by side, helping you quickly spot differences in risk level, pay, growth, and popularity. All of this is based on a mix of academic research, user polling, and official labour data.

Automation Risk

Each occupation shows a probability of automation. A higher score means machines and algorithms are more likely to take over the role in the future.

Job Score

A quick summary of how a job performs overall — factoring in wages, growth, volume, and automation risk. It’s a handy way to see the bigger picture at a glance.

Polling Data

Thousands of visitors cast their votes on how “automatable” each job feels. These community insights are shown alongside the calculated probabilities.

Growth & Wages

See how fast each occupation is projected to grow and what people earn on average. High wages don’t always mean high security — automation risk still matters.

Volume of Workers

Explore how many people currently work in each occupation and in which year the data was recorded. Popularity can affect how disruptive automation will be for the wider economy.

The Snowflake Diagram

Each snowflake visualises the balance between automation risk, wages, growth, and job volume. Bigger and greener areas mean stronger performance in that dimension.

Use this comparison page to research careers, guide students, or simply explore the future of work. All data is regularly updated to keep the results relevant.