Explore by Career/Production
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend spraying or rolling machines to coat or paint any of a wide variety of products, including glassware, cloth, ceramics, metal, plastic, paper, or wood, with lacquer, silver, copper, rubber, varnish, glaze, enamel, oil, or rust-proofing materials. Includes painters of transportation vehicles such as painters in auto body repair facilities.
- Median pay
- $47,590
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +0.7%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
What they do
- Dispose of hazardous waste in an appropriate manner.
- Hold or position spray guns to direct spray onto articles.
- Spray prepared surfaces with specified amounts of primers and decorative or finish coatings.
- Monitor painting operations to identify flaws, such as blisters or streaks, and correct their causes.
- Disassemble, clean, and reassemble sprayers or power equipment, using solvents, wire brushes, and cloths.
- Fill hoppers, reservoirs, troughs, or pans with material used to coat, paint, or spray, using conveyors or pails.
- Clean equipment and work areas.
- Apply rust-resistant undercoats and caulk and seal seams.
- Start and stop operation of machines, using levers or buttons.
- Determine paint flow, viscosity, and coating quality by performing visual inspections, or by using viscometers.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.