SOC 51-9021.00

    Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

    Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

    Median pay
    $48,540
    Growth
    -1.7%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    2,300
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $36,520
    Median
    $48,540
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $69,240
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    26,000 people work in this occupation.

    What crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    97 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    19 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    0 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    7 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    60 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCI. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    74
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    70
    Getting Information
    69
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    68
    Handling and Moving Objects
    66
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    64
    Documenting/Recording Information
    62
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    60
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    59
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    59
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Operation and Control
    • Operations Monitoring
    • Monitoring
    • Quality Control Analysis
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Time Management

    Knowledge

    • Administration and Management
    • Production and Processing
    • English Language
    • Education and Training
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Mathematics
    • Mechanical
    • Administrative
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Customer and Personal Service

    Abilities

    • Control Precision
    • Manual Dexterity
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Multilimb Coordination
    • Near Vision
    • Rate Control
    • Reaction Time
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Auditory Attention
    • Finger Dexterity

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Attention to Detail
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance
    • Integrity
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Self-Control
    • Cooperation
    • Self-Confidence

    Also called

    Abrasive Grinder · Air Bag Buffer · Air Chipper · Automatic Blocker · Automatic Buffer · Automatic Corn Grinder Operator · Automatic Grinding Machine Operator · Automatic Pattern Edger · Back Grinder · Ball Truing Machine Operator

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    Related careers

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    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.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.