Human edge, steady

Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.

AI Resistance Index 31 of 99

Changing faster than most: more resilient than 31% 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 -9.7% 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): $43,960
Job growth to 2035: -9.7%
Openings a year: 2,500
People doing it (2025): 33,300
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
Determine operational methods or procedures

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Prepare industrial materials for processing or use
Operate industrial processing or production equipment
Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects

What the work looks like

Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as improvements in robotics, CNC operated machinery, and other industrial equipment increase efficiency, allowing more output to be produced with the same amount of labor.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Food processing workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +5.5%
Production workers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 79, +0.8%
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishersHuman edge, growing, Index 73, +5.0%
Woodworkers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 55, -2.3%

Also known as: Anodizer, Chrome Plater, Electro Plater, Plater, Anodizing Line Operator, Coater Associate, Coater Operator, Galvanizer.

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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.