Careers / Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$47,720
United States, 2025
Employment
60,840
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
- O*NET code
- 51-4021.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
- Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
- Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
- Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
- Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
- Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
- Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
- Operate shearing mechanisms to cut rods to specified lengths.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$36,700
25th percentile
$40,450
75th percentile
$56,840
90th percentile
$63,710
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring3.9
- Operation and Control3.8
- Monitoring3.3
- Quality Control Analysis3.1
- Troubleshooting3.0
- Repairing3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Coordination3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Equipment Maintenance3.0
- Time Management2.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 11 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
11
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Operation and Control | 3.8 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.1 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Monitoring | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Repairing | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.6 | Not selected | 2.6 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington, VT | $64,760 | 50 | 2025 |
| Oshkosh, WI | $64,760 | 450 | 2025 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | $64,520 | 110 | 2025 |
| Appleton, WI | $61,960 | 250 | 2025 |
| Lincoln, NE | $61,570 | 90 | 2025 |
| Duluth, MN | $61,530 | 80 | 2025 |
| RI | $61,350 | 430 | 2025 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $60,820 | 520 | 2025 |
| Greensboro, NC | $60,390 | 430 | 2025 |
| VT | $59,220 | 60 | 2025 |
| Allentown, PA | $57,370 | 150 | 2025 |
| Fort Wayne, IN | $56,970 | 790 | 2025 |
| Manchester, NH | $56,820 | 110 | 2025 |
| Columbia, SC | $56,430 | 310 | 2025 |
| Providence, RI | $56,020 | 650 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $55,960 | 820 | 2025 |
| Staunton, VA | $55,790 | 130 | 2025 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY | $55,420 | 460 | 2025 |
| Fort Smith, AR | $55,380 | 150 | 2025 |
| St. Louis, MO | $54,610 | 570 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.