Career
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders
Run machines that paint and coat products.
$48,250
Median pay
+2.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
15,300
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Dispose of hazardous waste in an appropriate manner.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $48,250 a year and 15,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/TechnicianCIP 47.0603
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers$41,600 · +1.3%
- Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$43,960 · -9.7%
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic$46,170 · +5.8%
- Furniture Finishers$44,540 · -3.5%
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand$42,660 · -19.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.