---
title: "Rolling Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic"
description: "Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/rolling-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

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

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4023 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4023.00

Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.

Also advertised as: Breakdown Mill Operator; Calender Operator; Cold Mill Operator; Machine Operator; Mill Operator; Rolling Mill Operator; Roughing Mill Operator; Temper Mill Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $50,140 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $24.10/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,690 to $70,310, with the middle half between $44,020 and $61,880
- **Total US employment:** 25,250
- **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:** -8.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 56/100 — 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 25,250 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,690 |
| 25th | $44,020 |
| 50th (median) | $50,140 |
| 75th | $61,880 |
| 90th | $70,310 |
| Mean (average) | $53,220 |

### 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 | $72,670 | $82,803 | 660 |
| PA | $66,970 | $68,636 | 3,070 |
| VT | $66,240 | $67,621 | 40 |
| WA | $63,560 | $59,395 | 350 |
| MD | $61,470 | $58,566 | 310 |
| NY | $60,890 | $56,421 | 420 |
| MN | $60,620 | $61,468 | 50 |
| CT | $60,610 | $58,498 | 150 |
| NH | $60,570 | $58,148 | 40 |
| CO | $57,500 | $55,797 | 110 |
| IL | $54,180 | $54,203 | 550 |
| AL | $53,380 | $60,097 | 1,710 |
| WI | $51,370 | $54,594 | 290 |
| KY | $50,400 | $55,901 | 1,120 |
| OR | $50,400 | $48,761 | 140 |

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

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 25,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 23,200 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 2,100 jobs, or -8.3%. Declining: -8.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,900 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) | 74.2% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 12.6% |
| Some College Courses | 9.9% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 3.4% |

## What the work involves

- Adjust and correct machine set-ups to reduce thicknesses, reshape products, and eliminate product defects.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
- Monitor machine cycles and mill operation to detect jamming and to ensure that products conform to specifications.
- Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.
- Direct and train other workers to change rolls, operate mill equipment, remove coils and cobbles, and band and load material.
- Position, align, and secure arbors, spindles, coils, mandrels, dies, and slitting knives.
- Set distance points between rolls, guides, meters, and stops, according to specifications.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — 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 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reaction Time — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Rate Control — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 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 | 6.76 |
| C — Conventional | 3.96 |
| I — Investigative | 1.67 |
| A — Artistic | 1.01 |
| S — Social | 1.01 |
| 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 | 87.9 |
| ISTP | 75.6 |
| ISFJ | 74.5 |
| ESTJ | 72.5 |
| INTJ | 64.0 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Cutting and Slicing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cutting-and-slicing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $46,570
- [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
- [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
- [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
- [Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Except Sawing](https://nuecareer.com/careers/woodworking-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $43,380
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [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
- [Tool Grinder, Filer, and Sharpener](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tool-grinder-filer-and-sharpener) — median $50,060
- [Machine Feeder and Offbearer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/machine-feeder-and-offbearer) — median $41,220

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