Also called: Extrusion Press Operator, Wire Drawer, Tube Drawer
Pushes hot aluminum through shaped dies like toothpaste, or pulls wire through smaller and smaller holes, to make window frames, tubing and cable.
You load a heated aluminum log into a press and watch it squeeze out the far side as a long, shaped window frame. You stretch it straight, cut it to length and check the shape with gauges. Then you change dies for the next order.
BLS extruding and drawing machine setters (metal and plastic).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; trained on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Shrinking (about -4% over 10 years). Extruding and drawing machine setters overall.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Extrusion and drawing lines are highly automated; fewer operators run more lines each year.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at aluminum extrusion and wire plants or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Shop class, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-4021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.