As of June 2026, Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has an AI-exposure score of 51/100 (Elevated exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
More exposed than 36% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$49,030. About 600 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Production roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
No automatable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (100%).
- Read work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup.
- Confer with other workers about machine setups and operational specifications.
- Repair, maintain, and replace parts on dies.
- Set up, operate, or tend presses and forging machines to perform hot or cold forging by flattening, straightening, bending, cutting, piercing, or other operations to taper, shape, or form metal.
- Turn handles or knobs to set pressures and depths of ram strokes and to synchronize machine operations.
- Start machines to produce sample workpieces, and observe operations to detect machine malfunctions and to verify that machine setups conform to specifications.
- Select, align, and bolt positioning fixtures, stops, and specified dies to rams and anvils, forging rolls, or presses and hammers.
- Install, adjust, and remove dies, synchronizing cams, forging hammers, and stop guides, using overhead cranes or other hoisting devices, and hand tools.
- Sharpen cutting tools and drill bits, using bench grinders.
- Remove dies from machines when production runs are finished.
- Position and move metal wires or workpieces through a series of dies that compress and shape stock to form die impressions.
- Trim and compress finished forgings to specified tolerances.
- Measure and inspect machined parts to ensure conformance to product specifications.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (100%).
Safer adjacent roles
Your AI-Safe Career Report
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Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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