As of June 2026, Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has an AI-exposure score of 55/100 (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.
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
More exposed than 49% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$50,140. About 1,900 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
- Record mill production on schedule sheets.
- Calculate draft space and roll speed for each mill stand to plan rolling sequences and specified dimensions and tempers.
- Read rolling orders, blueprints, and mill schedules to determine setup specifications, work sequences, product dimensions, and installation procedures.
- Disassemble sizing mills removed from rolling lines, and sort and store parts.
- Direct and train other workers to change rolls, operate mill equipment, remove coils and cobbles, and band and load material.
- Monitor machine cycles and mill operation to detect jamming and to ensure that products conform to specifications.
- Fill oil cups, adjust valves, and observe gauges to control flow of metal coolants and lubricants onto workpieces.
- Signal and assist other workers to remove and position equipment, fill hoppers, and feed materials into machines.
- Manipulate controls and observe dial indicators to monitor, adjust, and regulate speeds of machine mechanisms.
- Install equipment such as guides, guards, gears, cooling equipment, and rolls, using hand tools.
- Select rolls, dies, roll stands, and chucks from data charts to form specified contours and to fabricate products.
- Position, align, and secure arbors, spindles, coils, mandrels, dies, and slitting knives.
- Thread or feed sheets or rods through rolling mechanisms, or start and control mechanisms that automatically feed steel into rollers.
- Set distance points between rolls, guides, meters, and stops, according to specifications.
- Start operation of rolling and milling machines to flatten, temper, form, and reduce sheet metal sections and to produce steel strips.
- Adjust and correct machine set-ups to reduce thicknesses, reshape products, and eliminate product defects.
- Activate shears and grinders to trim workpieces.
- Remove scratches and polish roll surfaces, using polishing stones and electric buffers.
- Examine, inspect, and measure raw materials and finished products to verify conformance to specifications.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (84%).
Safer adjacent roles
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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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