---
title: "Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4032 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4032.00

Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.

Also advertised as: Bore Mill Operator; CNC Drilling Operator (Computer Numerical Control Drilling Operator); CNC Machinist (Computer Numerical Control Machinist); Drill Operator; Drill Press Operator; Drill Setup Operator; Machine Operator; Punch Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,080 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.60/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $36,300 to $68,410, with the middle half between $41,710 and $57,940
- **Total US employment:** 4,680
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -9.5% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 38/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 4,680 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $36,300 |
| 25th | $41,710 |
| 50th (median) | $49,080 |
| 75th | $57,940 |
| 90th | $68,410 |
| Mean (average) | $51,810 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VA | $90,390 | $89,403 | 100 |
| MA | $77,780 | $73,546 | 60 |
| ID | $69,590 | $72,874 | 70 |
| FL | $66,340 | $64,150 | 80 |
| MI | $60,410 | $62,785 | 190 |
| NH | $59,800 | $57,409 | 40 |
| IL | $56,720 | $56,744 | 390 |
| NY | $55,310 | $51,250 | 70 |
| OK | $55,230 | $62,874 | 250 |
| AL | $53,110 | $59,793 | 140 |
| SC | $52,040 | $55,510 | 70 |
| KY | $51,740 | $57,388 | Not published by BLS |
| OH | $51,670 | $55,694 | 200 |
| CO | $51,280 | $49,761 | 40 |
| MS | $49,930 | $57,422 | 50 |

16 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 31 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 4,700 in the 2025–2035 base year to 4,200 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 400 jobs, or -9.5%. Declining: -9.5% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 400 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 56.9% |
| Some College Courses | 12.2% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 12.1% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 9.8% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 7.1% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 1.9% |

## What the work involves

- Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.
- Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements.
- Change worn cutting tools, using wrenches.
- Turn valves and direct flow of coolants or cutting oil over cutting areas.
- Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties.
- Install tools in spindles.
- Perform minor assembly, such as fastening parts with nuts, bolts, or screws, using power tools or hand tools.
- Observe drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mathematics — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Information Ordering — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Selective Attention — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.27 |
| I — Investigative | 2.75 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |
| S — Social | 1.00 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 90.4 |
| ISTP | 79.3 |
| ISFJ | 73.6 |
| ESTJ | 71.8 |
| INTJ | 69.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Milling and Planing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $52,800
- [Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $50,620
- [Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing](https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $43,380
- [Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $46,550
- [Tool Grinder, Filer, and Sharpener](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-grinder-filer-and-sharpener) — median $50,060
- [Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-punching-and-press-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $46,330
- [Multiple Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/multiple-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $47,180
- [Tool and Die Maker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-and-die-maker) — median $64,050
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-numerically-controlled-tool-operator) — median $50,690

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic