---
title: "Plating Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

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

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4193 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4193.00

Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.

Also advertised as: Anodizer; Anodizing Line Operator; Chrome Plater; Coater Associate; Coater Operator; Electro Plater; Galvanizer; Line Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $43,960 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $21.14/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $33,790 to $60,370, with the middle half between $37,260 and $49,600
- **Total US employment:** 32,410
- **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:** -9.7% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,500 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 53/100 — 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 32,410 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $33,790 |
| 25th | $37,260 |
| 50th (median) | $43,960 |
| 75th | $49,600 |
| 90th | $60,370 |
| Mean (average) | $45,100 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IA | $70,910 | $80,798 | 440 |
| WA | $58,000 | $54,199 | 410 |
| MS | $52,090 | $59,906 | 60 |
| AR | $51,140 | $58,824 | 230 |
| OK | $49,330 | $56,157 | 180 |
| OR | $48,050 | $46,488 | 310 |
| NE | $48,010 | $53,283 | 400 |
| CO | $47,930 | $46,510 | 190 |
| AZ | $47,110 | $46,793 | 640 |
| UT | $46,940 | $47,479 | 180 |
| OH | $46,790 | $50,434 | 1,810 |
| CA | $46,760 | $42,233 | 5,600 |
| MN | $46,730 | $47,383 | 560 |
| FL | $46,460 | $44,926 | 530 |
| NH | $46,300 | $44,449 | 60 |

25 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 40 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 33,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 30,100 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 3,200 jobs, or -9.7%. Declining: -9.7% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,500 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 |
| --- | --- |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 49.2% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 46.8% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 3.4% |
| Some College Courses | 0.6% |

## What the work involves

- Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
- Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
- Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
- Maintain production records.
- Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
- Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
- Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
- Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 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
- Writing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.1 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 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Production and Processing — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Control Precision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — 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 | 4.10 |
| I — Investigative | 2.23 |
| A — Artistic | 1.41 |
| 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 | 88.2 |
| ISTP | 78.0 |
| ISFJ | 73.0 |
| ESTJ | 70.4 |
| INTJ | 67.1 |

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.

- [Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/coating-painting-and-spraying-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $48,250
- [Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/heat-treating-equipment-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $48,750
- [Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $47,920
- [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
- [Molder, Shaper, and Caster, Except Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molder-shaper-and-caster) — median $46,170
- [Extruding and Forming Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Synthetic and Glass Fiber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-and-forming-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-synthetic-and-glass-fiber) — median $46,350
- [Adhesive Bonding Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/adhesive-bonding-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $46,460
- [Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $45,760
- [Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/separating-filtering-clarifying-precipitating-and-still-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $51,610
- [Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/textile-bleaching-and-dyeing-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $38,180

## 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/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic