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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.

Also called: Equipment Technician (Equipment Tech), Extruder Operator, Extrusion Line Operator, Extrusion Operator, Extrusion Press Operator, Machine Operator

Compare with my current job (Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$51,220
$24.63/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
540
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+3.9%
190 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$39,850$47,700$51,220$60,930$70,560

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
  • Start machines and set controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
  • Determine setup procedures and select machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
  • Troubleshoot, maintain, and make minor repairs to equipment.
  • Change dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
  • Load machine hoppers with mixed materials, using augers, or stuff rolls of plastic dough into machine cylinders.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure11 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 8
  • Language-model AIOE 6
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 20

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. Software may help with checking settings and spotting product defects. Changing dies, setting up machines, and fixing equipment are hands-on tasks. Federal projections note that more programmed machinery could mean fewer workers are needed for the same output.

Likely to change

  • Checking products for defects and specifications
  • Following setup procedures and machine settings

Still relies on people

  • Changing dies and fitting machine parts
  • Troubleshooting and making minor equipment repairs

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases as more processes can be performed by programmed machinery and improvements in software and equipment are expected to increase efficiency, allowing more output to be produced with the same amount of labor.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

    Examining workpieces for defects and measuring to specifications carry over. Welding has a Boston median pay of $63,770.

    Pay difference
    +$12,550 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

    Your troubleshooting and repair skills fit this work. It needs long-term training but has a Boston median pay of $75,770.

    Pay difference
    +$24,550 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

    Reading work orders and shaping products to specification build on your machine experience. It has 6.7% projected growth and pays $55,530.

    Pay difference
    +$4,310 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.7%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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