How people get into Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

What it takes to do this work

We do not hold a licence requirement for this one. That usually means the route in is hiring and training rather than a classroom, but we would rather tell you we cannot see one than promise there is nothing to it.

The jobs people hold first

These are the jobs people hold before moving into this one. Doing one of them is not the only way in, and it is not a requirement. It is the route the data can actually see.

Work people come from	Typical pay	Step up	Evidence
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders No licence we can see I do this now →	$45,290	+$1,350	Skills transfer
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic No licence we can see I do this now →	$39,880	+$6,760	Related work
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians No licence we can see I do this now →	$38,770	+$7,870	Related work
Upholsterers No licence we can see I do this now →	$42,240	+$4,400	Related work
Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic No licence we can see I do this now →	$40,040	+$6,600	Related work
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand No licence we can see I do this now →	$44,940	+$1,700	Related work
Etchers and Engravers No licence we can see I do this now →	$42,960	+$3,680	Related work

Skills transfer This is scored as a strong skills match with your experience. It is a measure of overlapping skills, not a career step anyone has been observed taking.

Related work The federal O*NET occupation index lists this as related to your kind of work, because the two share skills and day-to-day activities. It is a match on the work itself, not a record of people moving between them.

We keep those labels apart because they are different strength claims, and none of them means we watched individual people make the move.

Routes that already pay more than molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic are left out, because those are side moves rather than ways in. So are routes needing more schooling than you told us about.

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