---
title: "Milling and Planing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Milling and Planing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4035 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4035.00

Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.

Also advertised as: CNC Licensed Mill Operator (Computer Numerical Control Licensed Mill Operator); CNC Mill Operator (Computer Numerical Control Mill Operator); CNC Mill Operator (Computerized Numerical Control Mill Operator); CNC Mill Set Up Operator (Computerized Numerical Control Mill Set Up Operator); Machine Operator; Machine Set Up Operator; Mill Operator; Miller.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $52,800 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $25.39/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,840 to $81,030, with the middle half between $45,210 and $64,900
- **Total US employment:** 12,460
- **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:** -13.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,000 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 49/100 — 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 12,460 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,840 |
| 25th | $45,210 |
| 50th (median) | $52,800 |
| 75th | $64,900 |
| 90th | $81,030 |
| Mean (average) | $56,740 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $86,460 | $80,794 | 240 |
| CT | $79,300 | $76,537 | 150 |
| KY | $66,440 | $73,692 | 540 |
| IL | $63,360 | $63,387 | 570 |
| MA | $62,380 | $58,984 | Not published by BLS |
| NE | $59,630 | $66,180 | 70 |
| CA | $59,050 | $53,333 | 1,960 |
| WI | $58,770 | $62,458 | 280 |
| IN | $57,720 | $61,846 | 590 |
| NY | $56,560 | $52,409 | 550 |
| VA | $56,410 | $55,794 | 90 |
| MD | $56,080 | $53,430 | 50 |
| MN | $55,210 | $55,982 | 220 |
| TX | $53,840 | $55,473 | 510 |
| CO | $53,780 | $52,187 | Not published by BLS |

21 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 36 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 12,400 in the 2025–2035 base year to 10,800 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 1,600 jobs, or -13.2%. Declining: -13.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,000 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) | 47.3% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 18.8% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 15.0% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 9.7% |
| Some College Courses | 9.1% |

## What the work involves

- Record production output.
- Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.
- Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.
- Position and secure workpieces on machines, using holding devices, measuring instruments, hand tools, and hoists.
- Study blueprints, layouts, sketches, or work orders to assess workpiece specifications and to determine tooling instructions, tools and materials needed, and sequences of operations.
- Replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders.
- Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.
- Observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance with specified tolerances.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — 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
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.6 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 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.4 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
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — 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 | 4.38 |
| I — Investigative | 2.41 |
| A — Artistic | 1.19 |
| 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 | 89.8 |
| ISTP | 78.2 |
| ISFJ | 74.1 |
| ESTJ | 71.8 |
| INTJ | 67.7 |

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.

- [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
- [Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing](https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $43,380
- [Tool Grinder, Filer, and Sharpener](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-grinder-filer-and-sharpener) — median $50,060
- [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
- [Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-numerically-controlled-tool-operator) — median $50,690
- [Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $49,080
- [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
- [Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-and-slicing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $46,570
- [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

## 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/milling-and-planing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic