Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
SOC Code: 51-4191
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic carries a 36% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $47,450 and -12.8% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 14,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 36% AI exposure, Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits 1 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 56% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
25/100
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $47,450
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -12.8%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) D 36% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry on a declining BLS line
Typical entry is HS / some college (333/832) while growth is Declining (111/832). This is the crowded high-risk corner of the map - automation and headcount pressure compound without a degree moat.
Where Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
36% Around the middle lower than 44% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-4191) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
- 2. Determine flame temperatures, current frequencies, heating cycles, and induction heating coils needed, based on degree of hardness required and properties of stock to be treated.
- 3. Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
- 4. Determine types and temperatures of baths and quenching media needed to attain specified part hardness, toughness, and ductility, using heat-treating charts and knowledge of methods, equipment, and metals.
- 5. Examine parts to ensure metal shades and colors conform to specifications, using knowledge of metal heat-treating.
- 6. Adjust controls to maintain temperatures and heating times, using thermal instruments and charts, dials and gauges of furnaces, and color of stock in furnaces to make setting determinations.
- 7. Set and adjust speeds of reels and conveyors for prescribed time cycles to pass parts through continuous furnaces.
- 8. Start conveyors and open furnace doors to load stock, or signal crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.
- 9. Set up and operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
- 10. Load parts into containers and place containers on conveyors to be inserted into furnaces, or insert parts into furnaces.
Key Skills Required
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Critical Thinking
- Equipment Maintenance
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Chemistry
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology
- Design
- Physics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic has an AI exposure score of 36%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is projected to decline by 12.8% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 14,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
Key skills for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic include Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn?
The median annual wage for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is $47,450, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
The typical entry-level education for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (36% here).
- Amusement and recreation attendants · AI exposure 36%
- Communications teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 36%
- Computer network support specialists · AI exposure 36%
- Computer numerically controlled tool operators · AI exposure 36%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-12.8% here).
- Tellers · growth -12.9%
- Machine feeders and offbearers · growth -13.0%
- New accounts clerks · growth -13.2%
- Cooks, fast food · growth -13.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic's numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).