How to become a Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator or Tender

Official title: Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Also called: Batchmaker, Blender, Blending Technician (Blending Tech), Ink Blender, Issuing Operator, Machine Operator, Mixer, Mixer Operator, Operator, Stock Preparation Operator (Stock Prep Operator)

Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.

Main tasks

• Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
• Read work orders to determine production specifications or information.
• Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation.
• Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times.
• Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures.
• Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas.
• Examine materials, ingredients, or products visually or with hands to ensure conformance to established standards.
• Operate or tend machines to mix or blend any of a wide variety of materials, such as spices, dough batter, tobacco, fruit juices, chemicals, livestock feed, food products, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Tinter (Paint & Varnish).

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $48,990 a year The middle half earn $42,850 to $59,860.
• About 97,300 people work in this job now, and about 91,400 are projected by 2035. (-6.1%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
• 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 Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Ways in include: Tinter (Paint & Varnish).

How much does a Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator or Tender earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $48,990 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $42,850 to $59,860.

Is a Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator or Tender a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to fall 6% by 2035, from about 97,300 to about 91,400 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator or Tender?

Usually not. Only 10% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Tinter (Paint & Varnish).

Will AI change the work of a Mixing and Blending 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.