Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers vs Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: Similar Pay, -4% vs -10.8% Growth

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers vs Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: what changes?

Consider Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers if you want to wind wire coils used in electrical components, such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments, such as field cores, bobbins, armature cores, electrical motors, generators, and…. Consider Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic if you would rather set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that remove excess material or burrs from surfaces, sharpen edges or corners, or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic work pieces. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers and Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers

National median pay (2025): $48,220
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Operate or tend wire-coiling machines to wind wire coils used in electrical components such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments such as bobbins and generators.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,200

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers brief

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

National median pay (2025): $46,550
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Inspect or measure finished workpieces to determine conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as gauges or micrometers.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 4,500

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 10.8% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic brief

How the national numbers differ

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on annual openings

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is at 4,500 annual openings, compared with 1,200 annual openings for Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers.

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers has the edge on projected growth

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers is at -4% projected growth, compared with -10.8% projected growth for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers has the edge on median pay

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers is at $48,220, compared with $46,550 for Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.

30.6/ 100

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers

35/ 100

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers vs Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Dimension	Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Median pay (2025)	$48,220	$46,550
Pay percentile	27.4 percentile	22 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-4%	-10.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	1,200	4,500
2025 employment	12,900	68,500
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers brief Read Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic brief

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers vs Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

How the national numbers differ

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on annual openings

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers has the edge on projected growth

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers has the edge on median pay

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers vs Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

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