Plastic technician vs mold machine operator

The differences between plastic technicians and mold machine operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a plastic technician has an average salary of $36,725, which is higher than the $32,186 average annual salary of a mold machine operator.

The top three skills for a plastic technician include hand tools, grinders and extrusion. The most important skills for a mold machine operator are minor maintenance, quality checks, and hand tools.

Plastic technician vs mold machine operator overview

	Plastic Technician	Mold Machine Operator
Yearly salary	$36,725	$32,186
Hourly rate	$17.66	$15.47
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	6,368	68,276
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Plastic technician vs mold machine operator salary

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

	Plastic Technician	Mold Machine Operator
Average salary	$36,725	$32,186
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $47,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	BD
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between plastic technician and mold machine operator education

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

	Plastic Technician	Mold Machine Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Plastic technician vs mold machine operator demographics

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

	Plastic Technician	Mold Machine Operator
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%	Male, 65.2% Female, 34.8%
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, 10.3% 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 plastic technician and mold machine 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.

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.

Plastic technician vs mold machine operator skills

Common plastic technician skills

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

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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Plastic Technician
Plastic Technician vs Mold Machine Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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