Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians: $48K vs $39K Median Pay

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians: what changes?

Consider Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic if you want to set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes. Consider Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians if you would rather cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic and Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians. 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

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

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

National median pay (2025): $39,460
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: Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (18,600 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians brief

How the national numbers differ

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on annual openings

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic is at 5,400 annual openings, compared with 2,200 annual openings for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.

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 $39,460 for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians has the edge on projected growth

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians is at 2.2% projected growth, compared with 0.7% projected growth for Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.

43.8/ 100

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

36.3/ 100

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

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

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Dimension	Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Median pay (2025)	$47,720	$39,460
Pay percentile	25.6 percentile	11 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	0.7%	2.2%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	5,400	2,200
2025 employment	60,900	18,600
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 Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic brief Read Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians brief

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

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

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

How the national numbers differ

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic has the edge on annual openings

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

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians has the edge on projected growth

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic vs Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

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