Skilled Trades
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Median salary
$46,980
Typical range
$35k – $62k
Job outlook
+1% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Entry / Junior
$35,390
~2 yrs to advance
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Established
$46,980
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Senior
$54,725
Key skills
A typical day
- •Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
- •Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
- •Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
- •Reel extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
- •Install dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.