Plastic technician vs caster operator

The differences between plastic technicians and caster operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a caster operator has an average salary of $37,673, which is higher than the $36,725 average annual salary of a plastic technician.

The top three skills for a plastic technician include hand tools, grinders and extrusion. The most important skills for a caster operator are safety procedures, hand tools, and basic math.

Plastic technician vs caster operator overview

	Plastic Technician	Caster Operator
Yearly salary	$36,725	$37,673
Hourly rate	$17.66	$18.11
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	6,368	54,431
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Plastic technician vs caster operator salary

Plastic technicians and caster operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plastic Technician	Caster Operator
Average salary	$36,725	$37,673
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $47,000	Between $31,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between plastic technician and caster operator education

There are a few differences between a plastic technician and a caster operator in terms of educational background:

	Plastic Technician	Caster Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Plastic technician vs caster operator demographics

Here are the differences between plastic technicians' and caster operators' demographics:

	Plastic Technician	Caster Operator
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%	Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 7.8% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between plastic technician and caster operator duties and responsibilities

Plastic technician example responsibilities.

Manage utilization of LOTO procedures, GMP standards and OSHA safety standards.
Melt and apply solder along edges of work pieces to solder joints using soldering irons and gas torches.
Operate various plastic sheet extrusion machines to supply the thermoforming department.
Maintain ISO standards, training, meetings, and safety procedures.
Operate and maintain material dryers and resin systems to include regrind during the shift.
Perform and record require checks on dryers, material blending and resin systems and react to out of spec conditions.

Caster operator example responsibilities.

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Identify and wear require PPE.
Manufacture bathtubs, urinals, sinks and toilets.
Stencil identifying information on ingots and pigs, using special hand tools
Load specified amounts of metal and flux into furnaces and clay crucibles.
Design custom jewelry using gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, and brass.

Plastic technician vs caster operator skills

Common plastic technician skills

Hand Tools, 21%
Grinders, 16%
Extrusion, 16%
Process Adjustments, 14%
Color Changes, 14%
ABS, 9%

Common caster operator skills

Safety Procedures, 14%
Hand Tools, 14%
Basic Math, 11%
CNC, 7%
Skim, 7%
PPE, 6%