# Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

> Set up, operate, or tend spraying or rolling machines to coat or paint any of a wide variety of products, including glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil, or rust-proofing materials. Includes painters of transportation vehicles such as painters in auto body repair facilities.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/coating-painting-and-spraying-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders
- SOC code: 51-9124.00
- Career family: Production
- Median annual pay: $48,250 (10th percentile $36,260, 90th percentile $74,730)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +2.5%
- Openings a year: 15,300
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCA)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 100 |
| Investigative (I) | 8 |
| Artistic (A) | 18 |
| Social (S) | 4 |
| Enterprising (E) | 1 |
| Conventional (C) | 44 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 82/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 80/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 79/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 76/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 68/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 67/100)
- Controlling Machines and Processes (importance 66/100)
- Processing Information (importance 65/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 64/100)
- Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People (importance 62/100)

## Skills

Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Equipment Selection, Time Management

## Knowledge

Mechanical, English Language, Production and Processing, Education and Training, Chemistry, Customer and Personal Service, Public Safety and Security, Computers and Electronics, Engineering and Technology, Administration and Management

## Also called

Abrasive Coating Machine Operator, Abrasive Coating Machine Setup Operator, Air Drier, Air Drier Machine Operator, Aircraft Painter, Auto Body Painter (Automotive Body Painter), Auto Painter (Automobile Painter), Auto Refinisher (Automobile Refinisher), Auto Striper (Automotive Striper), Automatic Paint Sprayer Operator

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4706) (CIP 4706, 713 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide](https://www.collegesref.com/college/embry-riddle-aeronautical-university-worldwide-910) | Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $77,491 | $87,797 | $21,986 |
| [SUNY Morrisville](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suny-morrisville-2657) | Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | $51,819 | $61,351 | not reported |

## Related careers

- [Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/painting-coating-and-decorating-workers): $41,600 median pay
- [Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/plating-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic): $43,960 median pay
- [Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/molders-shapers-and-casters-except-metal-and-plastic): $46,170 median pay
- [Furniture Finishers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/furniture-finishers): $44,540 median pay
- [Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-workers-hand): $42,660 median pay
- [Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/adhesive-bonding-machine-operators-and-tenders): $46,460 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.