Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers
Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form continuous filaments from synthetic materials, such as liquid polymer, rayon, and fiberglass.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 56% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -3.3% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $46,350
- Job growth to 2035
- -3.3%
- Openings a year
- 1,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 13,500
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate industrial processing or production equipment
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Monitor equipment operation
What the work looks like
- Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form filaments from synthetic materials such as rayon, fiberglass, or liquid polymers.
- Press buttons to stop machines when processes are complete or when malfunctions are detected.
- Notify other workers of defects, and direct them to adjust extruding and forming machines.
- Observe flow of finish across finish rollers, and turn valves to adjust flow to specifications.
- Observe machine operations, control boards, and gauges to detect malfunctions such as clogged bushings and defective binder applicators.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Chemical equipment operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 74, +3.6%
- Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 73, +2.6%
- Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 65, +1.5%
- Metal-refining furnace operators and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 58, -2.9%
Also known as: Extruder Operator, Extrusion Line Operator, Extrusion Operator, Spindraw Operator, Extruder, Granulator, Hot End Operator, Pelletizer Operator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.