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Skilled Trades

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Set up, operate, or tend spraying or rolling machines to coat or paint any of a wide variety of products, including glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil, or rust-proofing materials. Includes painters of transportation vehicles such as painters in auto body repair facilities.

Median salary

$47,590

Typical range

$35k – $73k

Job outlook

+1% (about average)

AI exposure

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Education

Typical entry: No degree required

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Typical progression

  1. Junior Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

    Entry / Junior

    $35,480

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

    Established

    $47,590

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

    Senior

    $60,195

Key skills

A typical day

  • Dispose of hazardous waste in an appropriate manner.
  • Hold or position spray guns to direct spray onto articles.
  • Spray prepared surfaces with specified amounts of primers and decorative or finish coatings.
  • Monitor painting operations to identify flaws, such as blisters or streaks, and correct their causes.
  • Disassemble, clean, and reassemble sprayers or power equipment, using solvents, wire brushes, and cloths.

Fields of study

Any field

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