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Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Machine Feeders and Offbearers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic and Machine Feeders and Offbearers 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.”

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Machine Feeders and Offbearers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$45,190
$39,700
Employment · BLS OEWS
70,110
46,690
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
32nd pct
3rd pct

At a glance

Dimension Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Machine Feeders and Offbearers
Median pay $45,190 $39,700
Employment 70,110 46,690
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-12.0%) Declining (-13.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 5,500 4,700
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 · 32nd pct Low · 3rd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 26th pct · 18% of tasks 8th pct · 12% 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: Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Control Precision, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Reaction Time, Quality Control Analysis, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Multilimb Coordination, Production and Processing, Perceptual Speed, Rate Control, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Flexibility of Closure, Selective Attention, Finger Dexterity, Static Strength, Trunk Strength, Far Vision, Speaking, Troubleshooting, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Wrist-Finger Speed, Auditory Attention, Mathematics, Active Listening, Category Flexibility.

Specific to Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  • Visualization
  • Depth Perception
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Coordination
  • Complex Problem Solving

Specific to Machine Feeders and Offbearers

  • Mechanical
  • English Language
  • Speech Recognition
  • Speech Clarity
  • Written Expression
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Education and Training

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 , Office suite software , Industrial control software .

Specific to Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Specific to Machine Feeders and Offbearers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic or Machine Feeders and Offbearers — 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. "Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Machine Feeders and Offbearers." 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; 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/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic-vs-machine-feeders-and-offbearers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Machine Feeders and Offbearers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic-vs-machine-feeders-and-offbearers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic-vs-machine-feeders-and-offbearers,
  title  = {Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Machine Feeders and Offbearers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; 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/grinding-lapping-polishing-and-buffing-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic-vs-machine-feeders-and-offbearers}
}

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