Home / Apprenticeships / Occupations / Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: apprenticeship hours and pay
O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00
Approved apprenticeship titles
3 apprenticeship titles on the Department of Labor's approved list fall under Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, trained competency-based, hybrid, time-based. The shortest approved term is 2,000 hours, for CNC OPERATOR - MILLING (competency-based).
| Title | RAPIDS code | Approach and term |
|---|---|---|
| CNC OPERATOR - MILLING | 1097 | Competency-Based: 2,000 hours Hybrid: 2,000 to 2,500 hours Time-Based: 2,000 hours |
| MILLING MACHINE SET-UP OPERATOR | 0334 | Competency-Based: 4,000 hours Hybrid: 4,000 to 5,000 hours Time-Based: 4,000 hours |
| PANTOGRAPH-MACHINE SET-UP OPER | 0389 | Competency-Based: 4,000 hours Hybrid: 4,000 to 5,000 hours Time-Based: 4,000 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 milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn, by state
Washington has the highest state median for milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic ($86,460) and Alabama the lowest ($35,760), across the 36 states with a published figure.
| State | Median pay | Hourly | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $86,460 | $41.57 | 240 |
| Connecticut | $79,300 | $38.13 | 150 |
| Kentucky | $66,440 | $31.94 | 540 |
| Illinois | $63,360 | $30.46 | 570 |
| Massachusetts | $62,380 | $29.99 | Not published |
| Nebraska | $59,630 | $28.67 | 70 |
| California | $59,050 | $28.39 | 1,960 |
| Wisconsin | $58,770 | $28.26 | 280 |
| Indiana | $57,720 | $27.75 | 590 |
| New York | $56,560 | $27.19 | 550 |
| Virginia | $56,410 | $27.12 | 90 |
| Maryland | $56,080 | $26.96 | 50 |
| Minnesota | $55,210 | $26.54 | 220 |
| Texas | $53,840 | $25.89 | 510 |
| Colorado | $53,780 | $25.86 | Not published |
| Nevada | $52,800 | $25.39 | 120 |
| Iowa | $51,600 | $24.81 | 140 |
| Ohio | $51,310 | $24.67 | 610 |
| New Jersey | $50,530 | $24.29 | 190 |
| New Hampshire | $49,230 | $23.67 | 50 |
| North Carolina | $49,210 | $23.66 | 280 |
| Arizona | $48,760 | $23.44 | 100 |
| Michigan | $48,400 | $23.27 | 670 |
| South Carolina | $48,340 | $23.24 | 120 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,690 | $22.93 | 410 |
| Missouri | $47,680 | $22.93 | 350 |
| Florida | $47,220 | $22.70 | 140 |
| Utah | $46,580 | $22.39 | 100 |
| West Virginia | $45,440 | $21.85 | 120 |
| Maine | $45,210 | $21.74 | 120 |
| Arkansas | $44,440 | $21.36 | 160 |
| Tennessee | $43,710 | $21.02 | 1,170 |
| Oklahoma | $40,250 | $19.35 | 160 |
| Mississippi | $39,100 | $18.80 | 100 |
| Georgia | $38,340 | $18.43 | 120 |
| Alabama | $35,760 | $17.19 | 210 |
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).