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What They Do
About This Career
Sets up, operates, or tends machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.
A person in this career:
- Measures and examines extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
- Determines setup procedures and selects machine dies and parts, according to specifications.
- Starts machines and sets controls to regulate vacuum, air pressure, sizing rings, and temperature, and to synchronize speed of extrusion.
- Reels extruded products into rolls of specified lengths and weights.
- Installs dies, machine screws, and sizing rings on machines that extrude thermoplastic or metal materials.
- Changes dies on extruding machines, according to production line changes.
- Cleans work areas.
- Troubleshoots, maintains, and makes minor repairs to equipment.
- Weighs and mixes pelletized, granular, or powdered thermoplastic materials and coloring pigments.
- Tests physical properties of products with testing devices such as acid-bath testers, burst testers, and impact testers.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
- Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
- Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
- Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
- Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
- Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
- Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
- Work in this occupation involves walking or running more than one-third of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
- Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
- Seeing clearly at a distance
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
- Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
- Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
Work Hours and Travel
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Equipment Technician
- Extruder Operator
- Extrusion Operator
- Extrusion Press Operator
- Machine Operator
- Metal Inspector
- Setup Operator
- Wire Mill Operator
- Wire Mill Rover
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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