Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $34,630 | $16.65 |
| 25th | $38,360 | $18.44 |
| 50th · Median | $45,760 | $22.00 |
| 75th | $52,580 | $25.28 |
| 90th | $63,450 | $30.51 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (48)
Typical tasks
- Adjust machine components to regulate speeds, pressures, and temperatures, and amounts, dimensions, and flow of materials or ingredients.
- Press control buttons to activate machinery and equipment.
- Examine, measure, and weigh materials or products to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as templates, micrometers, or scales.
- Monitor machine operations and observe lights and gauges to detect malfunctions.
- Clear jams, and remove defective or substandard materials or products.
- Notify supervisors when extruded filaments fail to meet standards.
Expand more tasks (20)
- Record and maintain production data, such as meter readings, and quantities, types, and dimensions of materials produced.
- Review work orders, specifications, or instructions to determine materials, ingredients, procedures, components, settings, and adjustments for extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines.
- Turn controls to adjust machine functions, such as regulating air pressure, creating vacuums, and adjusting coolant flow.
- Clean dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponges, or air hoses.
- Synchronize speeds of sections of machines when producing products involving several steps or processes.
- Move materials, supplies, components, and finished products between storage and work areas, using work aids such as racks, hoists, and handtrucks.
- Activate machines to shape or form products, such as candy bars, light bulbs, balloons, or insulation panels.
- Select and install machine components, such as dies, molds, and cutters, according to specifications, using hand tools and measuring devices.
- Send product samples to laboratories for analysis.
- Couple air and gas lines to machines to maintain plasticity of material and to regulate solidification of final products.
- Pour, scoop, or dump specified ingredients, metal assemblies, or mixtures into sections of machine prior to starting machines.
- Measure, mix, cut, shape, soften, and join materials and ingredients, such as powder, cornmeal, or rubber to prepare them for machine processing.
- Remove materials or products from molds or from extruding, forming, pressing, or compacting machines, and stack or store them for additional processing.
- Feed products into machines by hand or conveyor.
- Measure arbors and dies to verify sizes specified on work tickets.
- Complete work tickets, and place them with products.
- Disassemble equipment to repair it or to replace parts, such as nozzles, punches, and filters.
- Remove molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machinery after production is complete.
- Swab molds with solutions to prevent products from sticking.
- Install, align, and adjust neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes.
Skills used in this work
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
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