US dataswitch to UK

Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

verifying conformance of machined work, establishing zero reference points on workpieces, observing drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems and lifting workpieces onto work tables either manually or with hoists or directing crane operators to lift and position workpieces. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: verifying conformance of machined work is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 0%
changing shape: 7%
staying human: 93%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 7 out of 100 (6–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 17 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

What shifts is studying machining instructions, job orders or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications: the paper around the work, not the work.

Your week, as this page understands it

Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces. The job title says “drilling”, “boring machine tool setters”, “operators”, “tenders”, “metal” or “plastic”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: verifying conformance of machined work. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic is not one task. It is 17 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is verifying conformance of machined work, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 0%
changing shape: 7%
staying human: 93%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

0 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.

Changing shape

1 task

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Studying machining instructions, job orders or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications
The software now makes the first pass at instructions, job orders or blueprints, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requirements.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 50 out of 100 (43–57 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Reading job orders and drawings to work out the setup is desk thinking, though shop specific tooling knowledge limits how far tools get.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Staying human

16 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Verifying conformance of machined work
This work happens in the physical world: conformance of machined work, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Measuring a finished part with calipers or gauges means holding the part and the instrument, which no software can do.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Changing worn cutting tools, using wrenches
This work happens in the physical world: worn cutting tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Change worn cutting tools, using wrenches.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Swapping a worn cutter with a wrench is entirely a hands on job at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Selecting and setting cutting speeds
This work happens in the physical world: speeds, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (31–45 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Speeds and feeds come from published tables that software handles well, but dialing them into the machine still needs someone there.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Moving machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds
This work happens in the physical world: machine controls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Moving the machine’s controls onto the workpiece is a hands on action at the machine itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Establishing zero reference points on workpieces
This work happens in the physical world: zero reference points, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Establish zero reference points on workpieces, such as at the intersections of two edges or over hole locations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting a zero point on the actual workpiece requires touching off the tool on real metal.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Observing drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems
This work happens in the physical world: machine operations, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Observe drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Watching and listening to a running machine for trouble depends on being beside it as it cuts.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Turning valves and directing flow of coolants or cutting oil over cutting areas
This work happens in the physical world: valves, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Turn valves and direct flow of coolants or cutting oil over cutting areas.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Turning coolant valves and aiming the flow at the cut is done by hand at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Verifying that workpiece reference lines are parallel to the axis of table rotation
This work happens in the physical world: workpiece reference lines are parallel, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Verify that workpiece reference lines are parallel to the axis of table rotation, using dial indicators mounted in spindles.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Checking alignment with a dial indicator mounted in the spindle means being at the machine with the instrument.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Installing tools in spindles
This work happens in the physical world: tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Install tools in spindles.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fitting tooling into a spindle is a purely physical setup step.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

Show the other 7 tasks

Laying out reference lines and machining locations on work
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: reference lines, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Lay out reference lines and machining locations on work, using layout tools, and applying knowledge of shop math and layout techniques.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 13 out of 100 (6–20 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Marking machining locations on real metal takes hands and tools, even though the layout math behind it is straightforward.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Positioning and securing workpieces on tables
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: workpieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Position and secure workpieces on tables, using bolts, jigs, clamps, shims, or other holding devices.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Clamping and bolting a workpiece to the table is physical work that has to be done by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating single- or multiple-spindle drill presses to bore holes so that machining operations can be performed on metal or plastic workpieces
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: single-, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Operate single- or multiple-spindle drill presses to bore holes so that machining operations can be performed on metal or plastic workpieces.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Running a drill press to bore holes is machine work performed by a person standing at it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Lifting workpieces onto work tables either manually or with hoists or directing crane operators to lift and position workpieces
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: workpieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Lift workpieces onto work tables either manually or with hoists or direct crane operators to lift and position workpieces.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Lifting heavy workpieces onto a table, by hand or by hoist, is physical work in the shop.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Performing minor assembly, such as fastening parts with nuts, bolts or screws
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: minor, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Perform minor assembly, such as fastening parts with nuts, bolts, or screws, using power tools or hand tools.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fastening parts together with hand or power tools is manual assembly work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating tracing attachments to duplicate contours from templates or models
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: attachments, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Supplemental
Source: “Operate tracing attachments to duplicate contours from templates or models.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting up and running a tracing attachment to copy a contour happens physically at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Sharpening cutting tools, using bench grinders
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: tools, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Sharpen cutting tools, using bench grinders.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Grinding a cutting tool to a sharp edge is skilled manual work at the bench.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: $49,080a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
People doing this job: 4,680in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is instructions, job orders or blueprints, work whose mistakes are cheap to catch, so software can take the first pass. The rows above are exactly that shape: studying machining instructions, job orders or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where conformance of machined work gets done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: verifying conformance of machined work is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 7% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 93% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 17 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Studying machining instructions, job orders or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to instructions, job orders or blueprints, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether conformance of machined work is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near studying machining instructions, job orders or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here

You did not come here for a career change and I am not selling you one. But one road out of here is worth knowing about, so here it is with the bill attached.

Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticMilling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
a year or morematched on shared tasks
You already verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments. In that job the same thing shows up as remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using…. Take both published task lists together and about 36% of the work in that job that the software is not taking is work you are doing today.
About 36% of it you could do on Monday. The rest is the price of the ticket.
The work the two jobs share
- You already do
  “Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.”
  They do
  “Remove workpieces from machines, and check to ensure that they conform to specifications, using measuring instruments such as microscopes, gauges, calipers, and micrometers.”
- You already do
  “Verify conformance of machined work to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, micrometers, or fixed or telescoping gauges.”
  They do
  “Verify alignment of workpieces on machines, using measuring instruments such as rules, gauges, or calipers.”
- You already do
  “Move machine controls to lower tools to workpieces and to engage automatic feeds.”
  They do
  “Move cutters or material manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to mill workpieces to specifications.”
What you would not already have: Nothing in your task list touches “record production output”, “observe milling or planing machine operation, and adjust controls to ensure conformance…” or “compute dimensions, tolerances, and angles of workpieces or machines according to specifications…”. That is the part you would be learning from scratch, and it is roughly the 64% of their durable work you do not already hold.
The honest bill
Pay: $52,800 against your $49,080 (OEWS May 2025 (both)).
- The licence gate: Default-closed. This release carries no licence-register snapshot, so I could not check whether that job is regulated, which means I have to assume it might be. Before you spend a penny, look it up on the US Labor Department’s licensed-occupations finder; the free routes below link straight to it. The route is banded a year or more because of that unknown, not in spite of it.
- The entry ticket: Typical entry-level education is published for only ten occupations in this release, and neither this job nor that one is among them. So I cannot tell you whether a qualification stands in the way. Treat that as an open question to settle before you commit, not as a green light.
- What the pay gap is telling you: $52,800 against your $49,080, 7.6% more (OEWS May 2025 (both)). A real difference, not a life-changing one. Take the move for the work, not the raise.
- What you live on meanwhile: Nobody is going to pay you to retrain. This is evenings and weekends alongside the job you already have, for a year or more, and if that is not possible right now then this route is not open right now, which is worth knowing before you start. The free American Job Center service listed below will talk training funding through with you before you pay anyone.
- Is the target job itself holding up: Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic scores 12/100 on this site’s own exposure measure (minimal), with 0% of its tasks in the top band. Employment projections are not published for this occupation in this release, so this is the exposure leg of the check only. It passed, which is the only reason it is here.
How long: A year or more, part-time, alongside the job you have. That band is set by the unchecked licence question and by the 64% of their work you would be learning, not by any one course.
See what AI is doing to milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools…, and their equivalent is to move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to…. Across both published task lists that is about 22% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 22% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already observe drilling or boring machine operations to detect any problems, and their equivalent is to observe machine operations to detect any problems, making necessary adjustments to correct problems. Across both published task lists that is about 20% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 20% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already change worn cutting tools, using wrenches, and their equivalent is to change worn machine accessories. Across both published task lists that is about 11% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 11% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 17 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like verifying conformance of machined work arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Plastics process operatives is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Plastics process operatives, Metal machining setters and setter-operators and Metal working machine operatives. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
American Job Center locator
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
- CareerOneStop local help hub
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop
Free

Why there is no community here

Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.

Nearby moves

The jobs above, as pages you can read the same way as this one. Your job shares its core work with these. That is what the match is, and it is all it is.

Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic →About 36% of it you could do on Monday. The rest is the price of the ticket.

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No Space for drilling / boring machine tool setters / operators / tenders / metal / plastic yet. Should there be one?

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What a Space actually is, in full

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 17 official task statements scored for Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (United States, SOC 51-4032), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 7 out of 100 (range 6–11, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Study machining instructions, job orders, or blueprints to determine dimensional or finish specifications, sequences of operations, setups, or tooling requir…” (50/100, partial); “Select and set cutting speeds, feed rates, depths of cuts, and cutting tools, according to machining instructions or knowledge of metal properties” (38/100, low); “Lay out reference lines and machining locations on work, using layout tools, and applying knowledge of shop math and layout techniques” (13/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” stay human?: About 93% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Sharpen cutting tools, using bench grinders” (0/100, minimal); “Operate tracing attachments to duplicate contours from templates or models” (0/100, minimal); “Verify that workpiece reference lines are parallel to the axis of table rotation, using dial indicators mounted in spindles” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 93% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 17 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: onet-db (im-rt)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.