Job Check
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.Mostly human for now
- 02Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.Mostly human for now
- 03Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.Mostly human for now
- 04Observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance with specified tolerances.Mostly human for now
- 05Select and install cutting tools and other accessories according to specifications, using hand tools or power tools.Mostly human for now
- 06Position and secure workpieces on machines, using holding devices, measuring instruments, hand tools, and hoists.Mostly human for now
- 07Replace worn tools, using hand tools, and sharpen dull tools, using bench grinders.Mostly human for now
- 08Study blueprints, layouts, sketches, or work orders to assess workpiece specifications and to determine tooling instructions, tools and materials needed, and sequences of operations.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications and knowledge of metal properties and shop mathematics.AI could speed this up a lot
- 10Move cutters or material manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to mill workpieces to specifications.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
24%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 41% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 94% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.
- Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.
- Move controls to set cutting specifications, to position cutting tools and workpieces in relation to each other, and to start machines.