Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment; filter presses; shaker screens; centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, fermenting, or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids, gases, or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. Includes dairy processing equipment operators.
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 Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still 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 | $36,200 | $17.40 |
| 25th | $44,410 | $21.35 |
| 50th · Median | $51,610 | $24.81 |
| 75th | $63,930 | $30.74 |
| 90th | $79,750 | $38.34 |
“≥” 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
- Monitor material flow or instruments, such as temperature or pressure gauges, indicators, or meters, to ensure optimal processing conditions.
- Inspect machines or equipment for hazards, operating efficiency, malfunctions, wear, or leaks.
- Set up or adjust machine controls to regulate conditions such as material flow, temperature, or pressure.
- Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory analysis.
- Operate machines to process materials in compliance with applicable safety, energy, or environmental regulations.
- Test samples to determine viscosity, acidity, specific gravity, or degree of concentration, using test equipment such as viscometers, pH meters, or hydrometers.
Expand more tasks (14)
- Maintain logs of instrument readings, test results, or shift production for entry in computer databases.
- Communicate processing instructions to other workers.
- Clean or sterilize tanks, screens, inflow pipes, production areas, or equipment, using hoses, brushes, scrapers, or chemical solutions.
- Examine samples to verify qualities such as clarity, cleanliness, consistency, dryness, or texture.
- Measure or weigh materials to be refined, mixed, transferred, stored, or otherwise processed.
- Dump, pour, or load specified amounts of refined or unrefined materials into equipment or containers for further processing or storage.
- Assemble fittings, valves, bowls, plates, disks, impeller shafts, or other parts to prepare equipment for operation.
- Turn valves to pump sterilizing solutions or rinse water through pipes or equipment or to spray vats with atomizers.
- Turn valves or move controls to admit, drain, separate, filter, clarify, mix, or transfer materials.
- Remove clogs, defects, or impurities from machines, tanks, conveyors, screens, or other processing equipment.
- Start agitators, shakers, conveyors, pumps, or centrifuge machines.
- Install, maintain, or repair hoses, pumps, filters, or screens to maintain processing equipment, using hand tools.
- Connect pipes between vats and processing equipment.
- Remove full containers from discharge outlets and replace them with empty containers.
Skills used in this work
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- 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.
Expand more skills (29)
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- 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.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- 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.
- 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.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
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