Career
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Run machines that grind and polish metal and plastic.
$46,550
Median pay
-10.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
4,500
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
- Measure workpieces and lay out work, using precision measuring devices.
- Inspect or measure finished workpieces to determine conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as gauges or micrometers.
- Set and adjust machine controls according to product specifications, using knowledge of machine operation.
- Observe machine operations to detect any problems, making necessary adjustments to correct problems.
- Activate machine start-up switches to grind, lap, hone, debar, shear, or cut workpieces, according to specifications.
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?
“Measure workpieces and lay out work, using precision measuring devices.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Reading Comprehension.
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 $46,550 a year and 4,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Machine Tool Technology/MachinistCIP 48.0501
- Machine Shop Technology/AssistantCIP 48.0503
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners$50,060 · -6.8%
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand$42,660 · -19.2%
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing$43,380 · -2.5%
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$52,800 · -13.2%
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$46,570 · -0.9%
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.