Metal Workers and Plastic Workers

How to become an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic

Official title: Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Also called: Equipment Technician (Equipment Tech), Extruder Operator, Extrusion Line Operator, Extrusion Operator, Extrusion Press Operator, Machine Operator, Metal Inspector, Setup Operator, Wire Mill Operator, Wire Mill Rover

Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

Main 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.

How to become one

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.

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Aluminum Extrusion Press Operator.
Apprenticeship: Extruder Operator (Plastics).

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $47,720 a year The middle half earn $40,450 to $56,840.
About 60,900 people work in this job now, and about 61,400 are projected by 2035. (+0.7%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

How much does an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $47,720 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $40,450 to $56,840.

Is an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 60,900 people now and 61,400 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

Usually not. Only 6% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Aluminum Extrusion Press Operator.

Will AI change the work of an Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

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 Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, 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.