---
title: "Forging Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/forging-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Forging Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4022 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4022.00

Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.

Also advertised as: Blacksmith; Forge Operator; Forge Press Operator; Forger; Hammer Operator; Header Operator; Hot Press Forger; Machine Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,030 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.57/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $36,800 to $68,720, with the middle half between $42,440 and $60,130
- **Total US employment:** 8,930
- **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:** -17.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 600 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 48/100 — 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 8,930 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $36,800 |
| 25th | $42,440 |
| 50th (median) | $49,030 |
| 75th | $60,130 |
| 90th | $68,720 |
| Mean (average) | $51,680 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OR | $69,210 | $66,959 | 30 |
| OK | $61,720 | $70,262 | Not published by BLS |
| MI | $61,620 | $64,043 | 620 |
| NE | $60,460 | $67,101 | 200 |
| WI | $60,310 | $64,095 | 80 |
| CA | $59,250 | $53,513 | 750 |
| CO | $57,970 | $56,253 | 140 |
| OH | $56,870 | $61,300 | 500 |
| NY | $56,350 | $52,214 | 260 |
| MO | $55,210 | $60,793 | 60 |
| VA | $54,230 | $53,638 | 560 |
| IN | $53,550 | $57,378 | 450 |
| MA | $51,770 | $48,952 | 310 |
| KS | $51,120 | $56,757 | 130 |
| PA | $50,280 | $51,531 | 550 |

17 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 32 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/forging-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/forging-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 8,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 7,400 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 1,500 jobs, or -17.2%. Declining: -17.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 600 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.

## What the work involves

- Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.
- Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.
- Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.
- Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.
- Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.
- Set up, operate, or tend presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal.
- Trim and compress finished forgings to specified tolerances.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.0 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 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Production and Processing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Near Vision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Visualization — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.1 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 | 6.74 |
| C — Conventional | 4.39 |
| I — Investigative | 2.62 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.19 |
| A — Artistic | 1.03 |
| S — Social | 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 | 91.1 |
| ISTP | 78.6 |
| ISFJ | 74.3 |
| ESTJ | 73.1 |
| INTJ | 68.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

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

- [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
- [Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing](https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $43,380
- [Tool and Die Maker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-and-die-maker) — median $64,050
- [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
- [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
- [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
- [Rolling Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rolling-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $50,140
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [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
- [Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molding-coremaking-and-casting-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $44,350

## 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

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