Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Explore safer careers (5)
Lower estimated automation risk
Why it fits
Machine setup and troubleshooting experience supports maintenance of textile drives, looms, sensors, and feed systems.
Why it fits
Experienced operators can coordinate shifts, machine assignments, quality checks, output, and training.
Why it fits
Builds on fabric behavior, construction sequence, measurements, pattern layout, and production constraints.
Why it fits
Textile defect recognition, sampling, measurements, lot records, and standards-based inspection transfer well.
Why it fits
Reuses production schedules, material status, lot tracking, machine capacity, and shop-floor coordination.
Occupation snapshot
What does this snowflake show?
What's this?
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
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
Quite importantWhy this matters
What users think
Based on 19 votes
Our visitors have voted that it's probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 83% chance of automation.
What do you think the risk of automation is?
What is the likelihood that Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?
View sentiment trend
Pay & outlook
Wages
In 2024, the median annual wage for Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders was $38,260 ($18 per hour).
The median annual wage for Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders was 22.7% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.
View wage trend
Wages over time
Growth
The number of 'Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders' job openings is expected to decline 11.2% by 2034
View employment trend
Total employment, and estimated job openings
Updated projections are due 09-2025.
Volume
As of 2024 there were 14,530 people employed as 'Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders' within the United States.
This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country
Put another way, around 1 in 10 thousand people are employed as 'Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders'.
People also viewed
Job description
Set up, operate, or tend machines that knit, loop, weave, or draw in textiles.
O*NET-SOC code: 51-6063.00
What people are saying (1)
Though clothing these days is woven en masse by machines, custom tailoring, adjustments, and artisan tailoring will never be replaced.
Reply to comment