Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Highest risk
Imminent Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

Industrial Machinery Mechanics
41% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better Higher growth
41.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses machine behavior, setup troubleshooting, preventive checks, and mechanical aptitude with repair training.

Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
61% automation risk | High Risk
Higher growth More jobs
20.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Builds on machine setup, tooling, tolerances, workpiece handling, and production monitoring.

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
63% automation risk | High Risk
More jobs
18.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits operators who can transfer setup, measurements, machine safety, and production troubleshooting to CNC.

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
74% automation risk | High Risk
Higher growth More jobs
7.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies tolerance checks, defect recognition, gauges, production records, and quality standards.

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
69% automation risk | High Risk
12.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies tooling, workholding, measurement, setup, and tolerance control in another machine-tool process.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
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.
JOB SCORE
2.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

82% (Imminent Risk)

Imminent Risk (81-100%): This occupation appears highly exposed to end-to-end replacement by AI, software, robotics, or other computer-controlled systems. Roles in this range often involve predictable, repeatable, or rules-based work with limited need for human judgement, trust, creativity, or adaptation to messy real-world conditions. This does not mean every job will disappear immediately, but it is a strong signal to consider safer alternatives or start building more resilient skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 11 votes

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic was $48,630 ($23 per hour).

The median annual wage for Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic was 1.8% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic' job openings is expected to decline 8.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 22,350 people employed as 'Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 6 thousand people are employed as 'Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic'.

People also viewed

Lawyers Mechanical Engineers Computer Programmers Actors Web Developers

What people are saying (1)

No (Low)
06 Jul 2023 21:34
Too complex. Material used is never the same. No uniformity. Need constant human oversight. Rollformers are already complex finetuned machines without AI.
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

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.

O*NET-SOC code: 51-4023.00