Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
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.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
What the work involves
- Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
- Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
- 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.
- Maintain production records.
- Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
- Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
- Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
- Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (49.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (50.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (22.1%)
- 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 Plating 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 81% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 60% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 71% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 99% of occupations compared | 94% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 88% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 62% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 68% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- 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: 3.4%
- Occasional contact with others: 6.26%
- Contact with others about half the time: 30.54%
- Contact with others most of the time: 15.96%
- Constant contact with others: 43.84%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 60.02%
- Fairly important: 12.03%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 7.04%
- Extremely important: 20.91%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 2.84%
- Fairly important: 0.48%
- Important: 23.19%
- Very important: 25.87%
- Extremely important: 47.62%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 10.7%
- Very little freedom: 2.07%
- Limited freedom: 12.05%
- Some freedom: 36.49%
- A lot of freedom: 38.69%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.27%
- Every day: 93.73%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 33.58%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 34.12%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.69%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.03%
- Every day: 0.58%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 19.29%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.83%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.07%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.33%
- Every day: 19.48%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 16.2%
- Fairly serious: 6.12%
- Serious: 19.75%
- Very serious: 35.9%
- Extremely serious: 22.02%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 51-4193.00 · SOC 51-4193 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8