Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Production

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.

Also called: Anodizer, Anodizing Line Operator, Chrome Plater, Coater Associate, Coater Operator, Electro Plater

Median pay in Greater Boston
$47,310
$22.75/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
500
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−10.1%
80 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
$36,680$38,310$47,310$50,290$53,670

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

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.

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 exposure18 of 100

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

  • AIOE 20
  • Language-model AIOE 23
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 11

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. Most of the work is physical: dipping parts in coating solutions, adjusting current, and watching gauges. Inspecting for defects is mostly done by eye. Federal notes tie the expected drop in jobs to machines and robotics that raise output per worker.

Likely to change

  • Monitoring gauges and process readings
  • Logging plating times and settings

Still relies on people

  • Spotting bubbles or uneven coating by eye
  • Handling workpieces and coating solutions safely

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases 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.”
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.

  • Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

    Coating and spraying machine work is very close to plating. It uses similar machine tending and safe handling of hazardous materials, and projected jobs are growing.

    Pay difference
    +$7,250 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +3.4%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

    Checking workpieces for defects and working with metal carry over to welding, which pays more and has projected growth.

    Pay difference
    +$16,460 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Industrial Machinery Mechanics

    Watching gauges and noticing machine problems carry over to repairing industrial machinery, a field with strong projected growth and higher pay.

    Pay difference
    +$27,890 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +17.1%
    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.

Talk to a career coach