As of November 2026,
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has an AI-exposure score of 48/100
(Moderate exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index. This is an estimate of task
exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Score inputs for this role:
This role starts from O*NET 31.0 occupational descriptors and is empirically grounded by Penn/OpenAI GPTs are GPTs study, Felten, Raj and Seamans AIOE index. BLS labor-market figures are separate context, not score inputs.
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
More exposed than 24% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$47,720. About 6,500 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 - growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) - your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
Will AI replace Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?
No exposure score can predict whether AI will replace this role. The 48/100 score means our current model estimates moderate task exposure from the sources listed on this page. It does not predict an employer decision, headcount, or an individual outcome. The task map below shows the work assessed and where human judgment remains important.
Early-career context (study ages 22-25)
This role is in our Moderate exposure band, not our highest-exposure bands. The study's 16% finding should not be applied directly to this role.
The November 2025 revision reports a 16% relative employment decline for workers ages 22-25 in the most AI-exposed U.S. occupations, after firm-level controls, relative to workers in less-exposed fields and more experienced workers in the same occupations.
Use the task map to identify durable work and the skills worth building early.
Stanford Digital Economy Lab, Canaries in the Coal Mine - November 2025 revision
This is group-level U.S. payroll evidence, not a personal forecast. The authors do not claim that AI alone caused the change, and this context does not alter the exposure score.
How this role compares to similar Production roles
What this role usually involves
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Broad guidance for this preparation level; exact requirements vary by role and employer.
Source: O*NET 31.0 exact occupation - Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, SOC 51-4021.00. Context describes the role; the AI-exposure score remains a separate task-exposure estimate.
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic tasks, by AI exposure
- Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.
- Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.
- Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
- Maintain an inventory of materials.
No durable tasks identified for this role - its individually-assessed tasks split 94% automatable / 6% augmentable.
We analyzed all 16 Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic tasks - 15 automatable and 1 augmentable. The full task map - every task with exactly what to do about each - is in your Career Report.
Your report unlocks three concrete artifacts
Every task scored with what to automate, augment, or protect.
Related roles with exposure deltas, salary, demand, and reachability. Lower-exposure options appear only when the data supports them.
A keepable roadmap plus resume and LinkedIn repositioning.
Grounded in O*NET-linked or curated role data, with Penn, Anthropic Economic Index, and AIOE signals where matched. BLS labor-market context is separate - not generic advice.
Adjacent career paths
This role is already among lower-exposure work. The adjacent paths below are shown for opportunity and skill transfer, not as lower-exposure alternatives.
Weigh and mix pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.
Your AI-Safe Career Report
Every task scored with what to do about it; adjacent paths with honest exposure deltas, salary, demand, and reachability; a skill-gap map; a 30/60/90-day roadmap; Agent Reality Check; plus a résumé and LinkedIn rewrite and professional PDF.
Grounded in O*NET-linked or curated role data, with Penn, Anthropic Economic Index, and AIOE signals where matched. BLS labor-market context is separate.
AI now appears in 7.3% of U.S. job postings on Indeed, up from 1.7% in January 2019 - the skills employers ask for are shifting, and adapting early pays. - Indeed Hiring Lab AI Tracker, 2026
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Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic - median pay by US state (BLS OEWS, USD)
Median annual wage, in USD. US national: US$47,720. More states are being added.