How To Become A Plastic Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a plastic 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 a plastic machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.29 an hour? That's $31,802 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePlastic Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,802

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.06%

Asian 6.90%

Black or African American 8.74%

Hispanic or Latino 18.08%

Unknown 4.47%

White 60.76%

Gender

female 30.91%

male 69.09%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a plastic machine operator

Explore plastic machine operator education requirements

Most common plastic machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

49.8 %

Associate

22.9 %

Diploma

11.5 %

Start to develop specific plastic machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Checks	19.47%
CNC	11.52%
Provide Technical Assistance	10.79%
Mold Components	9.21%
Lean Manufacturing	7.81%

Complete relevant plastic machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New plastic 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 a plastic machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real plastic machine operator resumes.

Research plastic machine operator duties and responsibilities

Assist in color die changes for use in maintaining plastic extrusion machines.
Operate pallet jacks and heavy machinery assembling bolts and nuts into car parts for Honda.
Record statistics on ISO documentation, and coordinate with machine technicians and electrical technicians to keep machines operating at maximum efficiency.
Participate in technical support and assist validation and QA department during equipment validation.

Prepare your plastic machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your plastic 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 a plastic 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 plastic machine operator resume templates

Build a professional plastic 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 plastic machine operator resume.