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Machinists vs Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Machinists and Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, 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.”

Machinists Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$56,150
$48,620
Employment · BLS OEWS
298,790
18,970
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
53rd pct
49th pct

At a glance

Dimension Machinists Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Median pay $56,150 $48,620
Employment 298,790 18,970
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (0.0%) Declining (-13.6%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 29,500 1,500
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 53rd pct Moderate · 49th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 28th pct · 18% of tasks 26th pct · 18% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (38.1%) —
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: Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Control Precision, Mathematics, Mechanical, Production and Processing, Operation and Control, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Selective Attention, Near Vision, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Oral Comprehension, Information Ordering, Visualization, Multilimb Coordination, Rate Control, Active Listening, Quality Control Analysis, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Perceptual Speed, Reaction Time, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Equipment Maintenance.

Specific to Machinists

  • Critical Thinking
  • Design
  • Speaking
  • Coordination
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Troubleshooting
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Speech Recognition

Specific to Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Education and Training
  • Administration and Management
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Trunk Strength
  • Administrative
  • Personnel and Human Resources

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: Object or component oriented development software , Industrial control software .

Specific to Machinists

Specific to Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Machinists or Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, 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. "Machinists vs Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, 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/machinists-vs-lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Machinists vs Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/machinists-vs-lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-machinists-vs-lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic,
  title  = {Machinists vs Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, 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/machinists-vs-lathe-and-turning-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic}
}

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