Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Design
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.
- Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements.
- Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties.
- Install tools in spindles.
- Change worn cutting tools, using wrenches.
- Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices.
- Move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds.
- Turn valves and direct flow of coolants or cutting oil over cutting areas.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (56.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (28.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (41.3%)
- 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 Drilling and Boring Machine Tool 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 69% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 85% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 52% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 57% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 80% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 62% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- 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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 16.17%
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.48%
- Contact with others most of the time: 25.61%
- Constant contact with others: 50.74%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 33.51%
- Fairly important: 29.37%
- Important: 15%
- Very important: 8.42%
- Extremely important: 13.7%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.85%
- Fairly important: 2.06%
- Important: 17.92%
- Very important: 23.48%
- Extremely important: 55.7%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 2.38%
- Very little freedom: 8.49%
- Limited freedom: 9.26%
- Some freedom: 40.19%
- A lot of freedom: 39.68%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 0.93%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.99%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.56%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.12%
- Every day: 51.4%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 22.82%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 35.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.98%
- Every day: 0.74%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 19.34%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 14.13%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 57.8%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.16%
- Every day: 2.56%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 1%
- Fairly serious: 17.18%
- Serious: 26.08%
- Very serious: 27.22%
- Extremely serious: 28.53%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2022
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O*NET-SOC 51-4032.00 · SOC 51-4032 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8