# Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers

> Shape molten glass according to patterns.

- **SOC code:** 51-9195.04
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9195-04
- **Also known as:** Glass Bender, Glass Blower, Neon Glass Bender, Neon Tube Bender, Gaffer, Glass Lathe Operator, Glass Tube Bender, Glassblower
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Place glass into dies or molds of presses and control presses to form products, such as glassware components or optical blanks.
- Spray or swab molds with oil solutions to prevent adhesion of glass.
- Heat glass to pliable stage, using gas flames or ovens and rotating glass to heat it uniformly.
- Inspect, weigh, and measure products to verify conformance to specifications, using instruments such as micrometers, calipers, magnifiers, or rulers.
- Blow tubing into specified shapes to prevent glass from collapsing, using compressed air or own breath, or blow and rotate gathers in molds or on boards to obtain final shapes.
- Determine types and quantities of glass required to fabricate products.
- Set up and adjust machine press stroke lengths and pressures and regulate oven temperatures, according to glass types to be processed.
- Record manufacturing information, such as quantities, sizes, or types of goods produced.
- Shape, bend, or join sections of glass, using paddles, pressing and flattening hand tools, or cork.
- Design and create glass objects, using blowpipes and artisans' hand tools and equipment.
- Operate and maintain finishing machines to grind, drill, sand, bevel, decorate, wash, or polish glass or glass products.
- Repair broken scrolls by replacing them with new sections of tubing.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_
- Control Precision _(ability)_
- Reaction Time _(ability)_
- Design _(knowledge)_
- Visualization _(ability)_
- Manual Dexterity _(ability)_
- Visual Color Discrimination _(ability)_
- Selective Attention _(ability)_
- Finger Dexterity _(ability)_
- Rate Control _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Depth Perception _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Billing software
- Inventory control software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 16th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 11th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 18th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 28th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 78th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 6.2% growth (About average); 5.5k annual openings; 41.7k → 44.3k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $45,690; 34,750 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9195-04_