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Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 9.5% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #332 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -9.5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $48,750 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 14,400 in the US, with about 1,100 openings a year
The work, 16 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
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance14%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Determine operational methods or procedures8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 461 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Signal others to coordinate work activities8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Remove workpieces from production equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Train others to use equipment or products5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 494 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Mark materials or objects for identification1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 91 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 1,100 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 54% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 21% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 52% of the workFood and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders5% AI does, against 21% here+0.4% by 2035 · $44,810 · No formal credential
- Shares 46% of the workFurnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders7% AI does, against 21% here+2.6% by 2035 · $48,040 · High school diploma
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 0.14, higher than 47% 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, 51-4191 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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