Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Also called: Chipper, Finisher, Grinder, PolisherGrind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 17 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 19.2% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.4 hires for every 10 job openings in durable goods manufacturing, which employs about 81% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $35,620 | $29,030 to $38,720 | 150 |
| Arizona | $38,280 | $38,270 to $46,520 | 560 |
| Arkansas | $38,960 | $37,490 to $44,320 | 140 |
| California | $44,450 | $38,520 to $51,020 | 1,850 |
| Colorado | $40,600 | $37,810 to $49,450 | 70 |
| Connecticut | $48,670 | $47,680 to $58,480 | 230 |
| Delaware | $47,780 | $32,720 to $47,780 | 40 |
| Florida | $39,480 | $35,380 to $46,540 | 510 |
| Georgia | $40,660 | $34,020 to $52,790 | 220 |
| Illinois | $36,590 | $35,940 to $38,160 | 60 |
| Indiana | $38,810 | $35,480 to $45,670 | 620 |
| Iowa | $47,280 | $44,060 to $49,180 | not published |
| Kansas | $48,410 | $42,960 to $55,420 | 100 |
| Louisiana | $33,160 | $31,310 to $34,680 | 90 |
| Maryland | $48,390 | $47,940 to $55,480 | not published |
| Massachusetts | $42,700 | $37,700 to $48,280 | 170 |
| Michigan | $44,430 | $37,240 to $52,810 | 650 |
| Minnesota | $51,930 | $44,750 to $59,010 | 120 |
| Mississippi | $40,280 | $34,320 to $42,070 | 30 |
| Missouri | $47,360 | $46,480 to $58,950 | 180 |
| Montana | $50,460 | $47,700 to $50,700 | not published |
| Nevada | $45,310 | $39,990 to $59,450 | 90 |
| New Hampshire | $47,920 | $44,260 to $51,750 | 40 |
| New Jersey | $47,840 | $40,110 to $57,890 | 300 |
| New Mexico | $28,640 | $27,060 to $36,350 | 120 |
| New York | $47,240 | $40,410 to $61,210 | 440 |
| North Carolina | $37,600 | $35,600 to $43,580 | 330 |
| Ohio | $40,310 | $35,980 to $48,070 | 490 |
| Oklahoma | $38,340 | $35,900 to $45,230 | 160 |
| Oregon | $42,380 | $41,600 to $48,110 | 160 |
| Pennsylvania | $40,510 | $37,550 to $46,290 | 140 |
| Rhode Island | $51,630 | $48,530 to $51,630 | 130 |
| South Carolina | $45,710 | $38,160 to $51,750 | 260 |
| Tennessee | $33,830 | $30,720 to $38,150 | 80 |
| Texas | $38,170 | $33,860 to $40,920 | 840 |
| Vermont | $56,850 | $50,700 to $59,570 | 50 |
| Virginia | $48,830 | $37,750 to $65,540 | 330 |
| Washington | $47,290 | $40,750 to $53,680 | 90 |
| West Virginia | $39,870 | $39,140 to $52,180 | not published |
| Wisconsin | $47,790 | $37,450 to $55,960 | 290 |
Nationally: $42,660. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 2 of its 17 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Grind, sand, clean, or polish objects or parts to correct defects or to prepare surfaces for further finishing, using hand tools and power tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Load and adjust workpieces onto equipment or work tables, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Verify quality of finished workpieces by inspecting them, comparing them to templates, measuring their dimensions, or testing them in working machinery. | Not published |
| Not much | Trim, scrape, or deburr objects or parts, using chisels, scrapers, and other hand tools and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Select files or other abrasives, according to materials, sizes and shapes of workpieces, amount of stock to be removed, finishes specified, and steps in finishing processes. | Not published |
| Not much | Move controls to adjust, start, or stop equipment during grinding and polishing processes. | Not published |
See all 17 tasks
| Not much | Measure and mark equipment, objects, or parts to ensure grinding and polishing standards are met. | Not published |
| Not much | Transfer equipment, objects, or parts to specified work areas, using moving devices. | Not published |
| AI + software | Mark defects, such as knotholes, cracks, and splits, for repair. | Not published |
| Not much | Study blueprints or layouts to determine how to lay out workpieces or saw out templates. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair and maintain equipment, objects, or parts, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove completed workpieces from equipment or work tables, using hand tools, and place workpieces in containers. | Not published |
| Not much | File grooved, contoured, and irregular surfaces of metal objects, such as metalworking dies and machine parts, to conform to templates, other parts, layouts, or blueprint specifications. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record product and processing data on specified forms. | Not published |
| Not much | Sharpen abrasive grinding tools, using machines and hand tools. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Apply solutions and chemicals to equipment, objects, or parts, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean brass particles from files by drawing file cards through file grooves. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 17 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 17 tasks fall under 19 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #38 Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Select materials or equipment for operations or projects | |||
| Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products | |||
| Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Mark materials or objects for identification |
Show all 19 activities
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Shape materials to create products | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Repair tools or equipment | |||
| Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment | |||
| Operate cutting or grinding equipment | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Remove workpieces from production equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for grinding and polishing workers, hand specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 252 moves in
- 1 Sales Managers High +4.5% 31%
- 2 Financial Managers Very high +9.7% 13%
- 3 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 7%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 6%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers High +4.1% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 27% less than high school
- 37% high school
- 12% some college
- 24% not published
O*NET marks 24% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 17 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 15% less than high school
- 46% high school
- 20% some college
- 7% associate's
- 8% bachelor's
- 3% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers” · 762 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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