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Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Production · SOC 51-4021
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$47,720
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
8,300
Proj. Annual Openings
60,840
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-3.8%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-4021 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 52/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $47,720
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 8,300
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +1.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 9,304 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlCritical ThinkingMonitoringQuality Control Analysis
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
12.1%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI2.1%
AI ability · AIOE34.2%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne91%
Top Skills
1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operation and Control
3.Critical Thinking
4.Monitoring
5.Quality Control Analysis
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Common titles: Equipment Technician, Extruder Operator, Extrusion Operator, Extrusion Press Operator, Machine Operator, Metal Inspector
Representative Tasks
- •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.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Inspect metal, plastic, or composite products.
- •Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
- •Select production equipment according to product specifications.
- •Determine production equipment settings.
- •Operate metal or plastic forming equipment.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotSAP software · hotEnterprise application integration EAI software
Related Occupations
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass FibersMolding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticCutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticMultiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-4021: 2019 — employment: 76,940, median wage: $36,320; 2020 — employment: 69,300, median wage: $37,530; 2021 — employment: 59,490, median wage: $37,750; 2022 — employment: 63,490, median wage: $39,970; 2023 — employment: 63,370, median wage: $44,390; 2025 — employment: 60,840, median wage: $47,720.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Average | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $47,720 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |