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.
Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.
What drives the score
Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.
How well your skills transfer
Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 63 | 53 |
| Monitoring | 63 | 53 |
| Speaking | 63 | 50 |
| Critical Thinking | 63 | 50 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 63 | 47 |
| Coordination | 62 | 50 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 62 | 41 |
| Active Learning | 62 | 28 |
| Reading Comprehension | 61 | 53 |
| Time Management | 61 | 50 |
Show 25 more skills
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | 60 | 44 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 60 | 41 |
| Learning Strategies | 58 | 31 |
| Instructing | 58 | 31 |
| Systems Analysis | 57 | 25 |
| Service Orientation | 56 | 31 |
| Systems Evaluation | 56 | 25 |
| Persuasion | 54 | 35 |
| Mathematics | 53 | 25 |
| Negotiation | 52 | 35 |
| Science | 52 | 25 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 50 | 28 |
| Operations Analysis | 49 | 22 |
| Installation | 48 | 3 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 47 | 50 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 47 | 35 |
| Troubleshooting | 47 | 35 |
| Equipment Selection | 47 | 28 |
| Management of Material Resources | 47 | 22 |
| Management of Financial Resources | 47 | 13 |
| Technology Design | 47 | 9 |
| Operations Monitoring | 46 | 56 |
| Repairing | 46 | 31 |
| Programming | 45 | 0 |
| Operation and Control | 43 | 53 |
Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.
Jobs you could move to
Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.
- Median pay · U.S.
- $53,140
- 10-yr growth
- +36.5%
- Skill gap
- 20%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Installation, Active Learning, Troubleshooting, Complex Problem Solving
- Median pay · U.S.
- $64,120
- 10-yr growth
- +29.5%
- Skill gap
- 26%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Systems Analysis
- Median pay · U.S.
- $65,160
- 10-yr growth
- +19.4%
- Skill gap
- 21%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Instructing, Active Learning, Active Listening
- Median pay · U.S.
- $68,380
- 10-yr growth
- +23%
- Skill gap
- 23%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Active Learning, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening
- Median pay · U.S.
- $58,450
- 10-yr growth
- +15.3%
- Skill gap
- 11%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness
- Median pay · U.S.
- $68,270
- 10-yr growth
- -1.6%
- Skill gap
- 1%
- Retraining
- Low
A second source of income, before you need it
This page can tell you where Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.
Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.
Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.