Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
Occupation · SOC 51-4062.00
Lay out, machine, fit, and assemble castings and parts to metal or plastic foundry patterns, core boxes, or match plates.
Also called: Metal Pattern Maker · Pattern Maker · Patternmaker · Wax Molder · Die Cast Die Maker · Fixture Builder · Layout Technician · Pattern Maker Programmer · Pattern Repair Person · Acoustical Tile Patternmaker · All-Around Patternmaker · Boilermaker Loftsman
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-4062-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-24.4% by 2034)
- 100 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $54,540/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (78th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (33rd)
33rd-percentile task overlap — yet about 100 openings a year (-24.4% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 31st | -0.6 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 26th | 0.2 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 47th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.9 · 78th percentile among occupations · High
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -24.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 100 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 1,600 → 1,200 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic sits at the 34th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
20% mean task exposure (2025)
34th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Toolmakers and Related Workers · 7222 | 20% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 15 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Program computerized numerical control machine tools. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Verify conformance of patterns or template dimensions to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, scales, and micrometers. Core · importance 4.4
- Set up and operate machine tools, such as milling machines, lathes, drill presses, and grinders, to machine castings or patterns. Core · importance 4.4
- Create computer models of patterns or parts, using modeling software. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Repair and rework templates and patterns. Core · importance 3.9
- Assemble pattern sections, using hand tools, bolts, screws, rivets, glue, or welding equipment. Core · importance 3.8
- Read and interpret blueprints or drawings of parts to be cast or patterns to be made, compute dimensions, and plan operational sequences. Core · importance 3.8
- Construct platforms, fixtures, and jigs for holding and placing patterns. Core · importance 3.7
- Clean and finish patterns or templates, using emery cloths, files, scrapers, and power grinders. Core · importance 3.5
- Design and create templates, patterns, or coreboxes according to work orders, sample parts, or mockups. Supplemental · importance 3.5
- Mark identification numbers or symbols onto patterns or templates. Core · importance 3.5
- Lay out and draw or scribe patterns onto material, using compasses, protractors, rulers, scribes, or other instruments. Supplemental · importance 3.2
- Paint or lacquer patterns. Supplemental · importance 3.1
- Select pattern materials such as wood, resin, and fiberglass. Supplemental · importance 3.0
- Apply plastic-impregnated fabrics or coats of sealing wax or lacquer to patterns used to produce plastic. Supplemental · importance 2.9
Work activities
- Operate grinding equipment.
- Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
- Calculate dimensions of workpieces, products, or equipment.
- Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
- Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
- Program equipment to perform production tasks.
- Design templates or patterns.
- Operate welding equipment.
- Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids.
- Repair templates, patterns, or molds.
- Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
- Clean workpieces or finished products.
- Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
- Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
- Select production input materials.
- Apply solutions to production equipment.
- Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Abilities
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.5 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.3 | |
| Visualization | 3.3 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.3 | |
| Control Precision | 3.3 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.1 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.1 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.0 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.9 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.9 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.9 | |
| Far Vision | 2.9 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.9 | |
| Written Expression | 2.8 |
Knowledge
| Production and Processing | 3.6 | |
| Mechanical | 3.4 | |
| Mathematics | 3.4 | |
| Design | 3.3 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.1 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.8 |
Transferable skills
| Operations Monitoring | 3.4 | |
| Operation and Control | 3.1 | |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.9 | |
| Time Management | 2.9 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | |
| Speaking | 3.0 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | |
| Monitoring | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Precision Production . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 33.5% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 15.0% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 8.7% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 2.5% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 0.1% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.2 | |
| Conventional | 4.2 | |
| Artistic | 3.4 | |
| Investigative | 1.7 |
Interest areas
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 2.7 | |
| Dependability | 2.1 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 1.3 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $39,150 |
| 25th percentile | $47,520 |
| Median (50th) | $54,540 |
| 75th percentile | $66,590 |
| 90th percentile | $79,690 |
| People employed | 1,570 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 1,530 | $54,650 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 11.77× | 1,530 |
Related occupations
Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.
- Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers · 51-6092.00 Compare →
- Patternmakers, Wood · 51-7032.00 Compare →
- Tool and Die Makers · 51-4111.00 Compare →
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic · 51-4192.00 Compare →
- Model Makers, Metal and Plastic · 51-4061.00 Compare →
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · 51-9195.00 Compare →
- Etchers and Engravers · 51-9194.00 Compare →
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters · 51-2041.00 Compare →
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand · 51-9022.00 Compare →
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4031.00 Compare →
- Model Makers, Wood · 51-7031.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers · 51-2011.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Precision Production · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 34th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic show 33rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 100 annual U.S. openings
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic rank in the 33rd percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-24.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $54,540, across about 1,570 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic show 33rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 100 annual U.S. openings • Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic rank in the 33rd percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-24.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $54,540, across about 1,570 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-4062-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Patternmakers, 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; 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/roles/role-51-4062-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-4062-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-4062-00,
title = {Patternmakers, 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; 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/roles/role-51-4062-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.