Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Quality Control Analysis
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.
- Observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance with specified tolerances.
- 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.
- Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.
- Compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications and knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
- Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.
- Select cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cuts, applying knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (47.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (20.1%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (29.7%)
- 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 Milling and Planing 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 95% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 95% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 89% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 50% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 78% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 51% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
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: 10.38%
- Occasional contact with others: 22.33%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.58%
- Contact with others most of the time: 33.66%
- Constant contact with others: 29.05%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 59.57%
- Fairly important: 14.69%
- Important: 10.38%
- Very important: 8.9%
- Extremely important: 6.47%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 6.47%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 39.04%
- Very important: 42.87%
- Extremely important: 11.62%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 6.47%
- Very little freedom: 23%
- Limited freedom: 23.82%
- Some freedom: 8.87%
- A lot of freedom: 37.84%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 4.68%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.47%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.5%
- Every day: 53.51%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 29.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.96%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.47%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.87%
- Every day: 14.18%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 19.14%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.96%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.68%
- Every day: 34.94%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 19.4%
- Fairly serious: 33.38%
- Serious: 6.98%
- Very serious: 14.56%
- Extremely serious: 25.68%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00 · SOC 51-4035 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8