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Cutters and Trimmers, Hand vs Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Cutters and Trimmers, Hand and Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$38,800
$45,690
Employment · BLS OEWS
7,070
34,750
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
12th pct
28th pct

At a glance

Dimension Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Median pay $38,800 $45,690
Employment 7,070 34,750
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-18.1%) About average (+6.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 600 5,500
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 12th pct Low · 28th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 26th pct · 18% of tasks 29th pct · 18% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Production and Processing, Information Ordering, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Oral Comprehension, Category Flexibility, Control Precision, Static Strength, Speech Recognition, Active Listening, Speaking, Oral Expression, Selective Attention, Finger Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Speech Clarity, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness, Written Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Trunk Strength, Far Vision, Critical Thinking, Inductive Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, Visualization, Reaction Time, Visual Color Discrimination, Rate Control, Extent Flexibility.

Specific to Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

  • Time Management
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Mathematics
  • Coordination
  • Service Orientation

Specific to Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

  • Mechanical
  • Operation and Control
  • Administration and Management
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • English Language
  • Writing

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software .

Specific to Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

    Specific to Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Cutters and Trimmers, Hand or Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Cutters and Trimmers, Hand vs Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/cutters-and-trimmers-hand-vs-molders-shapers-and-casters-except-metal-and-plastic

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Cutters and Trimmers, Hand vs Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/cutters-and-trimmers-hand-vs-molders-shapers-and-casters-except-metal-and-plastic

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-cutters-and-trimmers-hand-vs-molders-shapers-and-casters-except-metal-and-plastic,
  title  = {Cutters and Trimmers, Hand vs Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/cutters-and-trimmers-hand-vs-molders-shapers-and-casters-except-metal-and-plastic}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.