Injection molder vs mold machine operator

The differences between injection molders and mold machine operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a mold machine operator has an average salary of $32,186, which is higher than the $32,151 average annual salary of an injection molder.

The top three skills for an injection molder include injection molds, plastic injection and ISO. The most important skills for a mold machine operator are minor maintenance, quality checks, and hand tools.

Injection molder vs mold machine operator overview

	Injection Molder	Mold Machine Operator
Yearly salary	$32,151	$32,186
Hourly rate	$15.46	$15.47
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	1,225	68,276
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Injection molder vs mold machine operator salary

Injection molders and mold machine operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Injection Molder	Mold Machine Operator
Average salary	$32,151	$32,186
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Loveland, CO	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	BD	BD
Best paying industry	Automotive	Automotive

Differences between injection molder and mold machine operator education

There are a few differences between an injection molder and a mold machine operator in terms of educational background:

	Injection Molder	Mold Machine Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Injection molder vs mold machine operator demographics

Here are the differences between injection molders' and mold machine operators' demographics:

	Injection Molder	Mold Machine Operator
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4%	Male, 65.2% Female, 34.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 7.7% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between injection molder and mold machine operator duties and responsibilities

Injection molder example responsibilities.

Require molding expect rate of part producing and achieving ISO QualityStandards.
Design injection mold tooling; extensive CNC programming and machining.
Work with Chrysler engineers on the original design of vacuum harnesses.
Operate 10 semi-automatic extrusion machines from 75 to 300 tons and maintain control charts for statistical analysis.
Demonstrate efficient manual dexterity at a rapid and continuous rate.
Spray molds with compounds of lubricate molds, using acetylene torches.

Mold machine operator example responsibilities.

Require molding expect rate of part producing and achieving ISO QualityStandards.
Used basic math skills to count parts throw out the day.
Set up and run over 100 parts per shift.
Die cast the cables for weed eaters, lawn mowers, and boats.
Inspect complete product to match QA requirements.
Set up and operate CNC chuck lathe and trill/tap centers.

Injection molder vs mold machine operator skills

Common injection molder skills

Injection Molds, 29%
Plastic Injection, 21%
ISO, 6%
SPC, 6%
Machine Operation, 5%
Assembly Line, 4%

Common mold machine operator skills

Minor Maintenance, 17%
Quality Checks, 9%
Hand Tools, 6%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Safety Rules, 5%
Grinders, 5%

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Injection Molder
Injection Molder vs Mold Machine Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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