← All 785 jobsFile 51-4033
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 10.8% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #490 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -10.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $46,550 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 68,500 in the US, with about 4,500 openings a year
The work, 15 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Operate cutting or grinding equipment21%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment17%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position materials or components for assembly6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Shape materials to create products6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects6%
AI performed this in about 1 in 529 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Set up equipment3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 511 conversations, and it got them there 95% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 89 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 4,500 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 46% of the workOphthalmic Laboratory Technicians0% AI does, against 10% here+2.2% by 2035 · $39,460 · High school diploma
- Shares 39% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 10% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 33% of the workFood and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders5% AI does, against 10% here+0.4% by 2035 · $44,810 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.10, higher than 35% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-4033 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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