High school diploma or equivalent

None

Industrial machinery mechanics and machinery maintenance workers maintain and repair factory equipment and other industrial machinery, such as conveying systems, production machinery, and packaging equipment. Millwrights install, dismantle, repair, reassemble, and move machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Molders, Shapers, and Casters mold, shape, form, cast, or carve products such as food products, figurines, tile, pipes, and candles consisting of clay, glass, plaster, concrete, stone, or combinations of materials.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Industrial machinery mechanics and machinery maintenance workers maintain and repair factory equipment and other industrial machinery, such as conveying systems, production machinery, and packaging equipment. Millwrights install, dismantle, repair, reassemble, and move machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines.

No formal educational credential

None

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers apply finishes, often using machines, to products such as cars, jewelry, and ceramics.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. This category includes cannery workers who pack food products.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to coat or paint products like glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil, or rust-proofing materials.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Brickmasons and Blockmasons (or, simply, masons) use bricks and concrete blocks to build fences, walkways, walls, and other structures.

No formal educational credential

None

Machine Feeders and Offbearers feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters install and repair piping fixtures and systems.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, and tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment, filter presses, shaker screens, centrifuges, condenser tubes, precipitating, fermenting, or evaporating tanks, scrubbing towers, or batch stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids, gases, or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. This category includes dairy processing equipment operators.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. This category includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Carpenters construct, repair, and install building frameworks and structures made from wood and other materials.

No formal educational credential

None

Painters apply paint, stain, and coatings to walls and ceilings, buildings, and bridges and other structures.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.

No formal educational credential

None

Pipelayers lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. They may be asked to perform tasks such as grading trenches or culverts, positioning pipes, or sealing joints.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into products.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Set Up, Operate, or Tend Machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines that cut textiles.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Synthetic and Glass Fiber Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form continuous filaments from synthetic materials, such as liquid polymer, rayon, and fiberglass.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that remove excess material or burrs from surfaces, sharpen edges or corners, or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic work pieces.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend heating equipment such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, or heat-treat metal or plastic objects.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 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.