Career
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders
Run machines that knit and weave fabric.
$39,530
Median pay
-13.7%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,300
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
- Observe woven cloth to detect weaving defects.
- Thread yarn, thread, and fabric through guides, needles, and rollers of machines for weaving, knitting, or other processing.
- Remove defects in cloth by cutting and pulling out filling.
- Examine looms to determine causes of loom stoppage, such as warp filling, harness breaks, or mechanical defects.
- Inspect products to ensure that specifications are met and to determine if machines need adjustment.
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?
“Observe woven cloth to detect weaving defects.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Active Listening, Operation and Control.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $39,530 a year and 1,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$38,670 · -10.3%
- Sewing Machine Operators$36,670 · -15.1%
- Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$38,760 · -13.6%
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$50,270 · -3.6%
- Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders$38,180 · -12.5%
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.