How to become a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender

Official title: Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Also called: Beveler Operator, Cullet Trucker, Grinder, Grinder Operator, Machine Operator, Machine Tender, Miller, Polisher, Preparation Operator (Prep Operator), Pulverizer

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

Main tasks

• Observe operation of equipment to ensure continuity of flow, safety, and efficient operation, and to detect malfunctions.
• Clean, adjust, and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
• Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps and conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.
• Move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment that crushes, grinds, polishes, or blends materials.
• Notify supervisors of needed repairs.
• Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products at specified intervals to ensure conformance to requirements.
• Record data from operations, testing, and production on specified forms.
• Reject defective products and readjust equipment to eliminate problems.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Miller, Wet Process.
• Apprenticeship: Plant Operator.
• Apprenticeship: Surface-Plate Finisher.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $48,540 a year The middle half earn $40,430 to $60,040.
• About 26,600 people work in this job now, and about 26,100 are projected by 2035. (-1.7%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
• Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
• Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Ways in include: Miller, Wet Process.

How much does a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $48,540 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $40,430 to $60,040.

Is a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 26,600 people now and 26,100 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Usually not. Only 10% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Miller, Wet Process.

Will AI change the work of a Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the 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. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.