Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Troubleshooting
- Quality Control Analysis
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Design
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Measure completed workpieces to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers, gauges, calipers, templates, or rulers.
- Examine completed workpieces for defects, such as chipped edges or marred surfaces and sort defective pieces according to types of flaws.
- Read work orders or production schedules to determine specifications, such as materials to be used, locations of cutting lines, or dimensions and tolerances.
- Load workpieces, plastic material, or chemical solutions into machines.
- Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
- Start machines, monitor their operations, and record operational data.
- Test and adjust machine speeds or actions, according to product specifications, using gauges and hand tools.
- Turn controls to set cutting speeds, feed rates, or table angles for specified operations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (63.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (48.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (34%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 98% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 96% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 96% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 99% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 63% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 55% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 9.01%
- Occasional contact with others: 22.84%
- Contact with others about half the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others most of the time: 41.32%
- Constant contact with others: 5.55%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 75.87%
- Fairly important: 0.37%
- Important: 1.75%
- Very important: 20.63%
- Extremely important: 1.39%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 20.26%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 42.45%
- Extremely important: 6.93%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 40.52%
- Very little freedom: 5.72%
- Limited freedom: 41.41%
- Some freedom: 1.78%
- A lot of freedom: 10.57%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.22%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 41.98%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 10.02%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 2.69%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 63.44%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.83%
- Every day: 2.02%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.74%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 43.21%
- Every day: 2.02%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: 0%
- Serious: 20.26%
- Very serious: 1.49%
- Extremely serious: 55.04%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 51-4031.00 · SOC 51-4031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8