How To Become An Expanding Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an expanding machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an expanding machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.28 an hour? That's $33,861 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreExpanding Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,861

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 2.31%

Black or African American 9.74%

Hispanic or Latino 12.05%

Unknown 2.82%

White 72.31%

Gender

female 13.16%

male 86.84%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an expanding machine operator

Explore expanding machine operator education requirements

Most common expanding machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

63.2 %

Associate

15.8 %

Diploma

10.5 %

Complete relevant expanding machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New expanding machine operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an expanding machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real expanding machine operator resumes.

Research expanding machine operator duties and responsibilities

Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.
Manufacture ammunition from components using a power loading machine.

Prepare your expanding machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your expanding machine operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an expanding machine operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable expanding machine operator resume templates

Build a professional expanding machine operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your expanding machine operator resume.