CDCareer Decision

Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary in Knoxville, TN

In the 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS dataset, Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Knoxville, TN have a median annual salary of $39,440, with 280 recorded jobs in this area. Recorded earnings range from $36,660 at the 10th percentile to $49,720 at the 90th percentile.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · Data year: 2025 · Last updated: 2026-09-22

Salary overview

Median annual salary

$39,440

Data year: 2025

Hourly median

$18.96

Employment

280

Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Salary distribution

$36,660
10th
$39,060
25th
$39,440
Median
$39,440
75th
$49,720
90th

Local compared with national

Knoxville, TN

$39,440

Median annual · 2025

United States

$43,960

Median annual · 2025

The Knoxville, TN median is 10.3% below the national median in the available dataset (a difference of $4,520).

Top skills

  1. 1.Operations MonitoringImportance 3.3
  2. 2.Reading ComprehensionImportance 3.1
  3. 3.Active ListeningImportance 3.1
  4. 4.MonitoringImportance 3.1
  5. 5.Operation and ControlImportance 3.1
  6. 6.SpeakingImportance 3.0
  7. 7.Critical ThinkingImportance 3.0
  8. 8.CoordinationImportance 3.0
  9. 9.Quality Control AnalysisImportance 3.0
  10. 10.Time ManagementImportance 3.0
  11. 11.Judgment and Decision MakingImportance 2.9
  12. 12.WritingImportance 2.8

Career information

Education and experience

Typical education
Less than a High School Diploma
Experience
None
Job zone
2

Technology used

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Hazardous materials management HMS software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
  • Oracle Advanced Procurement

Common tasks

  • Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly.
  • Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
  • Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
  • Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
  • Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
  • Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
  • Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
  • Maintain production records.
  • Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
  • Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.

Related careers

Occupations recorded as related in the dataset. A relationship does not imply a guaranteed transition.

Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary in other locations

Other occupations in Knoxville, TN