# Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

> Set up, operate, or tend more than one type of cutting or forming machine tool or robot.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/multiple-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic
- SOC code: 51-4081.00
- Career family: Production
- Median annual pay: $47,180 (10th percentile $35,780, 90th percentile $74,450)
- Projected growth: Little or no change, +0.6%
- Openings a year: 11,600
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 100 |
| Investigative (I) | 21 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 1 |
| Enterprising (E) | 0 |
| Conventional (C) | 60 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 86/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 85/100)
- Controlling Machines and Processes (importance 84/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 84/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 83/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 83/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 82/100)
- Processing Information (importance 80/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 80/100)
- Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information (importance 78/100)

## Skills

Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Maintenance, Judgment and Decision Making, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension

## Knowledge

Production and Processing, Mechanical, Mathematics, English Language, Design, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service, Engineering and Technology, Computers and Electronics, Administration and Management

## Also called

Automatic Wheel-Line Operator, Ballistics Laboratory Gunsmith, Cell Technician, Centrifugal Control Switch Machine Operator, Clock Machine Setter, CNC Machine Setter (Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Setter), Combination Machine Tool Operator, Combination Machine Tool Setter, Electrode Turner and Finisher, Fabrication Set-Up Person

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

- [Precision Metal Working](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4805) (CIP 4805, 746 colleges)

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

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Ferris State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/ferris-state-university-949) | Precision Metal Working | not reported | $86,941 | $12,000 |
| [Del Mar College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/del-mar-college-782) | Precision Metal Working | $41,304 | $79,303 | not reported |
| [Hennepin Technical College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/hennepin-technical-college-1182) | Precision Metal Working | $68,632 | $76,020 | $11,033 |
| [Des Moines Area Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/des-moines-area-community-college-797) | Precision Metal Working | $65,355 | $75,145 | not reported |
| [Ivy Tech Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/ivy-tech-community-college-1314) | Precision Metal Working | $69,427 | $75,002 | $5,900 |
| [Dunwoody College of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/dunwoody-college-of-technology-838) | Precision Metal Working | $60,388 | $70,886 | $12,000 |
| [Pennsylvania College of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pennsylvania-college-of-technology-2096) | Precision Metal Working | $63,054 | $70,298 | $19,500 |
| [Austin Community College District](https://www.collegesref.com/college/austin-community-college-district-152) | Precision Metal Working | $46,036 | $69,185 | not reported |

## Related careers

- [Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic): $50,620 median pay
- [Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic): $52,800 median pay
- [Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal): $46,550 median pay
- [Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/tool-grinders-filers-and-sharpeners): $50,060 median pay
- [Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-except-sawing): $43,380 median pay
- [Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/cutting-punching-and-press-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic): $46,330 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.