Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
What it pays
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders earn a median of $23.55/hr — about $49,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $17.69/hr; the top 10% earn $33.75/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders earn a median of $23.55/hr — about $49,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $17.69/hr; the top 10% earn $33.75/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
- Read work orders to determine production specifications or information.
- Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation.
- Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times.
- Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures.
- Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tender make?
- The median pay is $23.55 per hour — roughly $49,000 a year, with the real range running from about $17.69/hr (10th percentile) to $33.75/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tender?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tender actually do all day?
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements. Read work orders to determine production specifications or information. Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.