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Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: apprenticeship hours and pay

O*NET-SOC 51-4034.00

Approved titles
10
RAPIDS codes
Shortest term
2,000 h
longest minimum 8,000 h
National median pay
$50,620
a year, BLS May 2025
Jobs nationally
16,710
BLS May 2025

Approved apprenticeship titles

10 apprenticeship titles on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, trained hybrid, time-based, competency-based. The shortest approved term is 2,000 hours, for CNC OPERATOR - MILLING AND TURNING (hybrid).

TitleRAPIDS codeApproach and term
CNC OPERATOR - MILLING AND TURNING1094
Hybrid: 2,000 to 2,500 hours
Time-Based: 2,000 hours
CNC OPERATOR - TURNING1093
Competency-Based: 2,000 hours
Hybrid: 6,000 to 7,500 hours
ENGINE-LATHE SET-UP OP,TOOL0782
Competency-Based: 4,000 hours
Hybrid: 4,000 to 5,000 hours
Time-Based: 4,000 hours
ENGINE-LATHE SET-UP OPERATOR0142
Competency-Based: 4,000 hours
Hybrid: 4,000 to 5,000 hours
Time-Based: 4,000 hours
SCREW-MACH SET-UP OPERATOR0502
Competency-Based: 8,000 hours
Hybrid: 8,000 to 10,000 hours
Time-Based: 8,000 hours
SCREW-MACH SET-UP OPERATOR, SINGLE0506
Competency-Based: 6,000 hours
Hybrid: 6,000 to 7,500 hours
Time-Based: 6,000 hours
SCREW-MACHINE OPERATOR, MULTI SPIN0500
Competency-Based: 8,000 hours
Hybrid: 8,000 to 10,000 hours
Time-Based: 8,000 hours
SCREW-MACHINE OPERATOR, SINGLE SPIN0444
Competency-Based: 6,000 hours
Hybrid: 6,000 to 7,500 hours
Time-Based: 6,000 hours
SPINNER, HAND0530
Competency-Based: 6,000 hours
Hybrid: 6,000 to 7,500 hours
Time-Based: 6,000 hours
TURRET LATHE SET-UP OPERAT1021
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 lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn, by state

Colorado has the highest state median for lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic ($71,670) and Arkansas the lowest ($39,060), across the 36 states with a published figure.

StateMedian payHourlyJobs
Colorado$71,670$34.46150
Maine$64,800$31.1580
Minnesota$61,000$29.33150
Massachusetts$60,870$29.27690
California$60,180$28.932,600
Alabama$58,490$28.12100
Nevada$58,240$28.0060
Pennsylvania$57,020$27.41580
Arizona$55,840$26.85110
Illinois$54,930$26.411,260
Maryland$54,860$26.3860
North Carolina$53,840$25.89310
West Virginia$53,660$25.8050
Wisconsin$51,020$24.53340
New York$50,760$24.40530
Louisiana$50,560$24.3190
Iowa$50,370$24.21180
Georgia$50,180$24.13100
Ohio$49,880$23.981,180
South Carolina$49,490$23.79370
Indiana$49,420$23.76710
Connecticut$49,380$23.74690
New Hampshire$48,980$23.55150
Missouri$48,950$23.53160
Virginia$48,920$23.52210
New Jersey$48,180$23.17190
Texas$48,020$23.092,150
Nebraska$47,350$22.76120
Kansas$47,310$22.7590
Kentucky$47,060$22.62250
Michigan$46,680$22.441,540
Florida$44,710$21.49140
Oklahoma$43,680$21.00240
Oregon$41,640$20.0240
Tennessee$40,730$19.58700
Arkansas$39,060$18.78190

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.

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).

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