Headline risk
15%
Moderate RiskWelding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 0% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 47,060
Employment 2024
38.9K
Projected Change (2024–34)
-9.0%
Openings (2024–34)
3.2K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of metal and plastic machine workers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications. AI use: 0%
- 2. Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices. AI use: 0%
- 3. Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills. AI use: 0%
- 4. Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools. AI use: 0%
- 5. Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies. AI use: 0%
- 6. Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 40.6 · 55K employed
Under 25: 4% · 25–54: 80% · 55+: 16%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
major_group_fallback · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Metal and plastic machine workers set up and operate equipment that cuts, shapes, and forms metal and plastic materials or pieces.
Metal and plastic machine workers are employed mainly in factories. Workers must adhere to safety standards to protect themselves from workplace hazards. Most work full time, which for some includes evenings and weekends.
Metal and plastic workers typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation and receive 1 year of on-the-job training. Computer numerically controlled (CNC) tool programmers typically need postsecondary training.
The median annual wage for metal and plastic machine workers was $46,800 in May 2024.
Overall employment of metal and plastic machine workers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.