Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
SOC Code: 51-7042
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing carries a 29% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $40,440 and -1.8% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 63,100 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 29% AI exposure, Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing sits 8 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 26% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
36/100
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing, 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 $40,440
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -1.8%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 29% 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
29% Lower than most lower than 74% 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.
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 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
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing'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 51-7042) 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
- 2. Examine finished workpieces for smoothness, shape, angle, depth-of-cut, or conformity to specifications and verify dimensions, visually and using hands, rules, calipers, templates, or gauges.
- 3. Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
- 4. Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
- 5. Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards.
- 6. Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
- 7. Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
- 8. Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools.
- 9. Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
- 10. Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components.
Key Skills Required
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Active Listening
- Equipment Selection
Knowledge Areas
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Building and Construction
- Education and Training
- Design
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Transportation
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing?
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing has an AI exposure score of 29%, 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing is projected to decline by 1.8% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 63,100 workers.
What skills are needed for Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing?
Key skills for Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing include Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing earn?
The median annual wage for Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing is $40,440, 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing?
The typical entry-level education for Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing?
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (29% here).
- Biochemists and biophysicists · AI exposure 29%
- Construction managers · AI exposure 29%
- Crane and tower operators · AI exposure 29%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay · AI exposure 29%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-1.8% here).
- Career/technical education teachers, secondary school · growth -1.8%
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks · growth -1.8%
- Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school · growth -1.8%
- Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents · growth -1.8%
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 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing's numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 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).