Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary

The median molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salary in the United States is $44,350 per year ($21.32/hour). Salaries range from $34,170 at the entry level to $61,600+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 150,470 molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to decline 3.8% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$44,350
per year
Hourly Rate
$21.32
per hour
Employment
150,470
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$34,170
25th percentile
$37,270
Median
$44,350
75th percentile
$51,020
90th percentile
$61,600

Job Growth (2024-2034)

-3.8%
Decline

Annual Openings

15,900
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent

Training Needed

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastics.

Molding, coremaking, and casting operators run the injection-molding presses, die-casting cells, and sand-casting operations that produce everything from plastic bottle caps and Berry Global containers to Precision Castparts turbine blades and Ford aluminum engine blocks. BLS reports median pay of $44,350 with a p10 of $34,170 and a p90 of $61,600 across 150,470 jobs β€” steady, union-friendly manufacturing wages that ride shift differential, overtime, and press-size complexity. Setup techs on 500+ ton presses and Sr die-casters at Precision Castparts sit at the top of the range; part-picker and gate-cutter helpers sit near p10. Nearly all seats are full-time W-2 with benefits, OT, and boot allowances.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Injection molding press setup
Load and set molds on 50-1500 ton presses, dial in barrel/nozzle temperatures, injection pressure and speed, hold pressure, cooling time, and clamp force. A bad setup wastes 200-800 shots in scrap before it stabilizes.
Die casting operations (hot / cold chamber)
Run aluminum, zinc, and magnesium die casting on Buhler, IDRA, or Frech machines. Manage shot sleeve, plunger velocity profile, intensification pressure, and die temperature within Β±5Β°C. Precision Castparts, Ryobi, and Bocar shops run this daily.
Sand & investment casting core making
Blow or ram sand cores using shell, cold-box, or no-bake binders; set core prints, chills, and gating. Aerospace investment casting (Precision Castparts, Doncasters) uses ceramic shell with tighter tolerances than commodity sand.
Mold changeover & tool handling
Rig, crane, and clamp molds weighing 500 lb to 20+ tons; execute quick-die-change on modern cells in 8-25 minutes. First-piece dimensional and visual approval before releasing to production.
Process parameter troubleshooting
Diagnose short shots, flash, sinks, warp, cold shuts, porosity, and burn marks against a 20+ variable process window. Adjust one variable at a time and log the result β€” cowboys who tweak three parameters at once get fired.
Auxiliary equipment operation
Material dryers, hot-runner controllers, chillers, robots (Yushin, Wittmann, Sepro), conveyor takeoff, and downstream degate/trim/CNC cells. All must be in spec or the press stops.
Quality inspection & SPC
Digital calipers, gauges, CMM referral, and Xbar-R chart interpretation. Log every 30-60 minutes per part-quality plan; know when to escalate vs adjust.
Safety β€” hot metal, high pressure, moving tonnage
Die casters run 700-1400Β°F molten metal. Injection presses close at hundreds of tons of clamp. Foundries have crane loads overhead. PPE, LOTO, and pinch-point discipline are non-negotiable.

How to Become a Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  1. 1
    Complete high school diploma or GED with shop math and blueprint reading
    Fractions, decimals, unit conversions, and basic geometry get you past the aptitude test. Most plants require GED plus drug screen and physical.
  2. 2
    Start as a material handler, packer, or press-side helper
    $34-38k at plastics OEMs (Berry Global, Sealed Air, Owens Corning) and metal casters (Nucor auxiliary work, Ford/GM foundry helpers). Six to twelve months of press-side exposure before operating.
  3. 3
    Bid or promote into a full Operator seat
    $40-52k on the press. Learn the process card, run parts to the quality plan, and hit changeover time targets. Union shops bid by seniority; non-union promotes on attendance and QC scores.
  4. 4
    Certify as Setup Technician or Process Technician
    $52-66k. RJG Master Molder or SPI Certified Journeyman Molder for plastics; NADCA (die casting) Level 1 for metal. Sets you up for the specialist track and mold changeover ownership.
  5. 5
    Promote to Lead / Sr Setup Tech / Shift Supervisor
    $62-88k. Own the shift's molds, first-piece approvals, and operator coaching. From here it forks: Molding Supervisor ($80-105k), Process Engineer with an associate's or bachelor's, or Toolroom Technician.

Career Progression

Press-Side Helper / Packer
0-1 yrs$34-39k ($16.50-19/hr + shift diff)
  • β€’Pack finished parts, cut runners, remove flash and sprues
  • β€’Load material into hoppers and dryers per material spec
  • β€’Maintain 5S at the cell; escalate defects to the Operator
  • β€’Learn LOTO, hot-work, and crane-signal basics
Next: Bid into an Operator seat after 6-12 months of clean attendance.
Molding / Casting Operator
1-5 yrs$42-54k ($20-26/hr + shift diff)
  • β€’Run 1-4 presses or die-cast cells per shift to the process card
  • β€’Perform hourly SPC checks, first-piece and last-piece samples
  • β€’Execute minor process tweaks within the approved window
  • β€’Complete PMs on take-out robots, hot runners, and chillers
Next: Certify (RJG, NADCA, or SPI) and move to Setup Tech at 3-6 years.
Setup Technician / Sr Operator
5-10 yrs$54-68k ($26-32/hr + shift diff + OT)
  • β€’Perform mold changeovers to the QDC standard (8-25 minutes)
  • β€’Own first-piece dimensional approval and process-window validation
  • β€’Diagnose short shots, flash, porosity, and warp with structured DOE
  • β€’Coach Operators through 4-week structured OJT sign-off
Next: Sr Setup Tech, Lead, or Process Technician at 8-12 years.
Molding Lead / Sr Setup Tech
8-15 yrs$65-85k ($31-40/hr or salaried)
  • β€’Own the shift's press or cell portfolio (10-40 machines)
  • β€’Coordinate maintenance, toolroom, and material handling to hit uptime
  • β€’Report uptime, first-pass yield, scrap %, and safety daily to Supervisor
  • β€’Handle disciplinary escalations and vacation planning for 10-30 people
Next: Molding Supervisor or Process Engineer at 12-18 years.
Molding / Casting Supervisor
12+ yrs$80-105k salaried + bonus
  • β€’Manage a molding or casting department across 2-3 shifts (40-150 people)
  • β€’Drive capital projects β€” new presses, robotic cells, hot-runner upgrades
  • β€’Own OSHA compliance, cross-functional coordination, and customer-quality audits
  • β€’Report to Plant Manager on shipments, cost per part, and safety metrics
Next: Plant Superintendent, CI Manager, or Molding Engineering Manager.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 15 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a mold changeover on a 500-ton press.technical
Setup starts before the shift: pull the next mold's process card, verify the correct color, resin, and inserts, and stage the material dryer. On the changeover: purge the barrel with the color-appropriate compound, unclamp and unhitch the outgoing mold with the QDC clamps, crane it out to the mold cart, crane the new mold in, hit the QDC clamps, hook water lines and hydraulic connectors, verify safety gates and ejector clearance, load the recipe into the HMI, and run first-piece. A well-run QDC on a Toshiba or Milacron 500-ton press is 12-18 minutes; a bad changeover with a hunt for water fittings can take 90 minutes. Interviewers want to hear you name the process card, first-piece approval, and SMED principles.
Q2. How do you troubleshoot short shots and flash on the same part?technical
Short shots and flash on the same part usually mean the process window has collapsed β€” the process is on a knife-edge between under- and over-packing. First I'd verify melt temperature and material dryness β€” wet ABS or PA6 will short-shot and flash unpredictably. Then I'd check the injection velocity profile and switch-over point; a switch-over that's too early gives short shots, too late gives flash. Only after that would I touch pack pressure. On a Berry Global bottle-cap tool at 100 shots/min, I'd want to log every change and re-sample every 20 shots β€” never chase both defects with the same knob at the same time.
Q3. Describe a time you caught a defect before it shipped.behavioral
STAR. Situation: at a plastics plant running Owens Corning glass-filled PA6 into automotive brackets, I noticed the color drift by shot 400 of a run β€” the parts were about half a shade darker than the retain sample. Task: hold the run or ship it. Action: I pulled a retain, held the line, and looked at the material dryer β€” its dewpoint had drifted from -40Β°F to -10Β°F, meaning the resin was cooking. Result: swapped hoppers to a dryer that was actually working, ran a purge, saved 2,800 parts that would have been rejected at the OEM incoming dock, and got a shift-level recognition. The point is: color drift isn't cosmetic on filled resins β€” it's a signal.
Q4. Why molding β€” why not machining or welding?culture
Molding is process work at scale. A single press running 24/7 makes 2-5 million parts a year, and every one of them depends on how the operator manages the process window across every shift. I like that the job rewards discipline and pattern recognition β€” the operators who read the machine, log the numbers, and adjust in small steps make better parts and better money. The pay ladder from Operator to Setup Tech to Lead is real, and unlike some machining shops, molding certifications (RJG, NADCA) transfer across every plant in the country.
Q5. Where do you see your career in 5 years?closer
I'd like to be a Setup Technician certified through RJG Master Molder Level 2 or NADCA for die casting, running mold changeovers and first-piece approvals on the shift's premium tools. Longer term, either Lead or Process Technician with an associate's degree paid through tuition reimbursement. I'm targeting plants like Berry Global, Precision Castparts, or Ford that actually have the Lead-and-above ladder to promote into β€” not job shops where the ceiling is Operator forever.

Resume Template β€” Molding / Casting Operator (1-5 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Molding / Casting Operator (1-5 yrs)
  • β–ΈRan 4 injection presses (Toshiba 250-700 ton) on 2nd shift; 97.4% uptime and scrap rate 0.9% (plant target 1.5%) across 4.2M parts/yr.
  • β–ΈCut average mold changeover from 42 min to 22 min on 500-ton cells through SMED-style pre-staging and QDC clamp discipline.
  • β–ΈRJG Master Molder Level 1 in progress; certified LOTO, crane signal, and forklift.
  • β–Έ$50,400 base + shift differential + 5 hrs OT/wk = $61,200 total; Grade 5 seniority; 100% attendance FY24.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Cannot read a caliper to the 0.001" or a digital indicator β€” automatic screen-out at any tolerance-critical shop.
  • βœ—Adjusts three parameters at once and can't explain which one moved the defect β€” 'cowboy' setup style is a plant-wide risk.
  • βœ—Attendance issues β€” presses run continuous, and a missing operator throws the shift into overtime or scrap.
  • βœ—No familiarity with material drying, dewpoint targets, or resin regrind rules β€” signals hobby-level plastics knowledge.
  • βœ—Won't stop the press for a bad first-piece β€” a candidate who says 'I'd run it and see' gets rejected before the second round.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Shift differential β€” 2nd shift adds $1.25-2.50/hr, 3rd shift adds $2-4/hr, weekend crews often add $3-5/hr.
  • βœ“Certifications β€” RJG Master Molder, NADCA Die Casting, or SPI Certified Journeyman Molder add $2-6/hr and open the Setup Tech track.
  • βœ“Press-size premium β€” operators on 1000+ ton presses or high-tonnage die casting typically earn $2-4/hr over 100-500 ton work.
  • βœ“Sign-on bonus β€” plastics OEMs (Berry Global, Sealed Air) and casters (Precision Castparts, Nucor) run $1-5k sign-ons during shortages.
  • βœ“Boot / PPE / uniform allowance β€” often $250-600/yr; not always in the base offer.
  • βœ“OT opportunity β€” a plant running 6-10 hrs OT/wk adds $10-18k over base at Operator wages. Ask about historical OT before signing.

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Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$38K
$78Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Hawaii
$78K
+75%
Maryland
$63K
+43%
Maine
$59K
+34%
Minnesota
$50K
+12%
Nevada
$50K
+12%
Nebraska
$49K
+9%
Washington
$48K
+9%
Colorado
$48K
+9%
North Dakota
$48K
+8%
New Hampshire
$48K
+7%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Hawaii$77,560+74.9%
Maryland$63,460+43.1%
Maine$59,230+33.6%
Minnesota$49,590+11.8%
Nevada$49,590+11.8%
Nebraska$48,500+9.4%
Washington$48,290+8.9%
Colorado$48,200+8.7%
North Dakota$47,780+7.7%
New Hampshire$47,610+7.4%
1–10 of 49

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Urban Honolulu, HI$77,560+74.9%
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$74,650+68.3%
Saginaw, MI$74,130+67.1%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$66,540+50.0%
Portland-South Portland, ME$62,690+41.4%
Evansville, IN$61,160+37.9%
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL$60,430+36.3%
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO$58,730+32.4%
Peoria, IL$56,720+27.9%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$56,130+26.6%
1–10 of 224
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earning $44,350/year would need 1344 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1443 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic salary trend (2011–2024) β†’