Career
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Run lathes that shape metal and plastic.
$50,620
Median pay
-11.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,400
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
- Adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances.
- Move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to position tools in relation to workpieces.
- Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and operational sequences.
- Inspect sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications, using instruments such as gauges, micrometers, and dial indicators.
- Replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines.
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?
“Adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Reading Comprehension, 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 $50,620 a year and 1,400 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Machine Tool Technology/MachinistCIP 48.0501
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$52,800 · -13.2%
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550 · -10.8%
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,180 · +0.6%
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$43,380 · -2.5%
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners$50,060 · -6.8%
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.