Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers vs Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: $46K vs $48K Median Pay

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers vs Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: what changes?

Consider Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers if you want to assemble or modify electrical or electronic equipment, such as computers, test equipment telemetering systems, electric motors, and batteries. Consider Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic if you would rather set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes. Entry credentials differ: Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers, specialty requirements need verification; Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, high school diploma or equivalent.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers and Extruding and Drawing Machine 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.

The labor-market benchmark for Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers covers the broader BLS group Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers (51-2028). It does not isolate this specialty.

Compare the practical differences

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers

National median pay (2025): $45,850
Route into the job: specialty-specific preparation that needs verification with programs and employers; the broader BLS occupation's education category is not a verified route for this specialty
Prior related experience: Prior experience requirements need verification for this occupation.
Training and licensing: Verify the specialty's training, licensing, and full preparation time with an accredited program or employer.
Work to investigate: Read and interpret schematic drawings, diagrams, blueprints, specifications, work orders, or reports to determine materials requirements or assembly instructions.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 25,900

Know before you choose

Deadline pressure is a recurring condition rather than an occasional emergency.

See the full Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers brief

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

National median pay (2025): $47,720
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: Measure and examine extruded products to locate defects and to check for conformance to specifications, adjusting controls as necessary to alter products.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 5,400

Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.7%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic brief

How the national numbers differ

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers has the edge on projected growth

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers is at 5% projected growth, compared with 0.7% projected growth for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers has the edge on annual openings

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers is at 25,900 annual openings, compared with 5,400 annual openings for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on median pay

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is at $47,720, compared with $45,850 for Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers.

60.1/ 100

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers

43.8/ 100

Extruding and Drawing Machine 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

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers vs Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Dimension	Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Median pay (2025)	$45,850	$47,720
Pay percentile	19.8 percentile	25.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	5%	0.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	25,900	5,400
2025 employment	246,300	60,900
How you qualify	specialty-specific preparation that needs verification with programs and employers; the broader BLS occupation's education category is not a verified route for this specialty	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	Prior experience requirements need verification for this occupation.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	Verify the specialty's training, licensing, and full preparation time with an accredited program or employer.	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 Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers brief Read Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic brief

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers vs Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

How the national numbers differ

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers has the edge on projected growth

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers has the edge on annual openings

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on median pay

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers vs Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Try another comparison

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