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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.

Also called: Breakdown Mill Operator, Calender Operator, Cold Mill Operator, Machine Operator, Mill Operator, Rolling Mill Operator

Median pay in Greater Boston
$50,790
$24.42/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
140
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−0.5%
40 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
$41,150$49,190$50,790$61,690$64,810

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

What you’d do

  • Monitor machine cycles and mill operation to detect jamming and to ensure that products conform to specifications.
  • Adjust and correct machine set-ups to reduce thicknesses, reshape products, and eliminate product defects.
  • Start operation of rolling and milling machines to flatten, temper, form, and reduce sheet metal sections and to produce steel strips.
  • Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
  • Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
  • Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.

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 exposure14 of 100

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

  • AIOE 13
  • Language-model AIOE 11
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 18

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. AI tools could help with reading orders and mill schedules or tracking production, but setting up machines, clearing jams, and checking products by hand are hands-on work. Federal projections expect more automated and programmable machines to take over some tasks, and Massachusetts job numbers are expected to dip slightly (-0.5%) through 2034.

Likely to change

  • Reading rolling orders and mill schedules
  • Monitoring machine cycles for problems

Still relies on people

  • Adjusting machine setups to fix defects
  • Measuring and inspecting materials by hand

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases as manufacturers are expected to use more CNC, automated, and programmable machinery to perform some functions or tasks previously done by these workers.”
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.

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

    You already start machines, set controls, and measure products for defects. This job uses the same skills, and Massachusetts employment is projected to grow 3.9%.

    Pay difference
    +$430 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +3.9%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

    Your skill at examining and measuring workpieces to meet specifications carries over. Welding offers a higher Boston median pay of $63,770 and projected growth of 4.2%.

    Pay difference
    +$12,980 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

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

    Reading work orders and finishing parts to specification are familiar tasks. This move offers a median pay of $55,530 and projected growth of 6.7%.

    Pay difference
    +$4,740 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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