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

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.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend more than one type of cutting or forming machine tool or robot.

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

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

Metal and Plastic Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.

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 Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend lathe and turning machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock.

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.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic. This process forms bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate or flattens, tempers, or reduces gauge of material.

High school diploma or equivalent

None

Metal and Plastic Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.

No formal educational credential

None

Hand Cutters and Trimmers use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.