Home / Apprenticeships / Occupations / Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: apprenticeship hours and pay
O*NET-SOC 51-4031.00
Approved apprenticeship titles
2 apprenticeship titles on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, trained competency-based, hybrid, time-based. The shortest approved term is 2,000 hours, for PRESS OPERATOR HEAVY DUTY (competency-based).
| Title | RAPIDS code | Approach and term |
|---|---|---|
| PRESS OPERATOR HEAVY DUTY | 0928 | Competency-Based: 8,000 hours Competency-Based: 2,000 hours Hybrid: 8,000 to 10,000 hours Time-Based: 8,000 hours |
| SPRING COILING MACHINE SET | 0457 | Competency-Based: 8,000 hours Hybrid: 8,000 to 10,000 hours Time-Based: 8,000 hours |
Time-based programs count hours on the job; competency-based programs move on when the apprentice shows the skills; hybrid programs use both, within a range of hours (29 CFR 29.5(b)(2)). Each registered program sets its own term inside what the approved title allows.
What cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn, by state
Oregon has the highest state median for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic ($53,680) and Puerto Rico the lowest ($24,090), across the 50 states with a published figure.
| State | Median pay | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $53,680 | $25.81 | 1,180 |
| Maine | $51,820 | $24.92 | 180 |
| Washington | $51,160 | $24.60 | 1,750 |
| Colorado | $50,790 | $24.42 | 1,400 |
| Minnesota | $49,770 | $23.93 | 6,130 |
| Wisconsin | $49,270 | $23.69 | 7,960 |
| Alaska | $49,010 | $23.56 | 80 |
| Illinois | $48,990 | $23.55 | 8,060 |
| Nebraska | $48,690 | $23.41 | 1,320 |
| Montana | $48,490 | $23.31 | 130 |
| California | $48,450 | $23.29 | 7,710 |
| North Dakota | $48,400 | $23.27 | 230 |
| Missouri | $48,310 | $23.23 | 3,240 |
| Iowa | $48,240 | $23.19 | 2,030 |
| Rhode Island | $48,170 | $23.16 | 470 |
| New Hampshire | $48,110 | $23.13 | 600 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,860 | $23.01 | 8,890 |
| Nevada | $47,690 | $22.93 | 580 |
| Maryland | $47,320 | $22.75 | 270 |
| Virginia | $47,300 | $22.74 | 1,790 |
| Indiana | $46,980 | $22.59 | 9,680 |
| New York | $46,930 | $22.56 | 3,340 |
| Wyoming | $46,890 | $22.54 | 60 |
| Kansas | $46,840 | $22.52 | 1,900 |
| Utah | $46,670 | $22.44 | 1,050 |
| Arizona | $46,610 | $22.41 | 1,100 |
| Connecticut | $46,280 | $22.25 | 2,030 |
| Michigan | $46,120 | $22.17 | 22,060 |
| South Dakota | $46,060 | $22.15 | 490 |
| Kentucky | $45,760 | $22.00 | 7,290 |
| Massachusetts | $45,760 | $22.00 | 2,590 |
| New Jersey | $45,680 | $21.96 | 1,950 |
| Arkansas | $45,580 | $21.91 | 3,020 |
| Ohio | $45,230 | $21.75 | 13,350 |
| Georgia | $45,080 | $21.67 | 5,260 |
| Tennessee | $44,780 | $21.53 | 5,380 |
| South Carolina | $44,420 | $21.35 | 4,100 |
| Alabama | $43,830 | $21.07 | 6,000 |
| Vermont | $43,560 | $20.94 | 70 |
| North Carolina | $43,400 | $20.86 | 3,940 |
| West Virginia | $43,070 | $20.71 | 290 |
| Texas | $42,720 | $20.54 | 13,290 |
| Delaware | $41,640 | $20.02 | 240 |
| Oklahoma | $40,930 | $19.68 | 2,480 |
| Louisiana | $40,870 | $19.65 | 760 |
| Mississippi | $40,650 | $19.55 | 1,700 |
| Idaho | $39,580 | $19.03 | 720 |
| Florida | $39,440 | $18.96 | 2,740 |
| New Mexico | $39,430 | $18.96 | 220 |
| Puerto Rico | $24,090 | $11.58 | 240 |
Finding a program
The public sponsor file names the organizations that run registered apprenticeships but not the occupations each one trains, so this guide names no sponsor. Search apprenticeship.gov's Apprenticeship Finder for this title, or ask your American Job Center which local programs train it.
Apprenticeship sponsors by state (25,633) · All approved occupations
Sources: apprenticeship.gov approved occupations list (Last-Modified October 8, 2026); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (all industries; blanks are figures BLS does not publish).