Plastic technician vs molder operator

The differences between plastic technicians and molder 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 $31,707 average annual salary of a molder operator.

The top three skills for a plastic technician include hand tools, grinders and extrusion. The most important skills for a molder operator are GMP, quality checks, and dexterity.

Plastic technician vs molder operator overview

	Plastic Technician	Molder Operator
Yearly salary	$36,725	$31,707
Hourly rate	$17.66	$15.24
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	6,368	66,217
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Plastic technician vs molder operator salary

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

	Plastic Technician	Molder Operator
Average salary	$36,725	$31,707
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $47,000	Between $26,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Milford, CT
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	BD
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between plastic technician and molder operator education

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

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

Plastic technician vs molder operator demographics

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

	Plastic Technician	Molder Operator
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6%	Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4%
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, 10.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between plastic technician and molder 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.

Molder operator example responsibilities.

Require molding expect rate of part producing and achieving ISO QualityStandards.
Mold canoes and kayaks also flash them.
Handle all the chemicals alone with proper PPE.
Certify to run both a bobcat and forklift.
Mold plastic casting of kayaks after pop out the oven.
Work on mold presses, extrusion line making material to be mold into parts.

Plastic technician vs molder operator skills

Common plastic technician skills

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

Common molder operator skills

GMP, 10%
Quality Checks, 8%
Dexterity, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Quality Standards, 7%
Basic Math, 6%