Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Also called: Blender, Machine Operator, Mixer, Mixer OperatorSet up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 19 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 6.1% 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, 8.4 hires for every 10 job openings in nondurable goods manufacturing, which employs about 66% 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.8.4 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 | $46,050 | $38,070 to $56,730 | 2,220 |
| Alaska | $49,740 | $35,290 to $64,330 | 60 |
| Arizona | $48,280 | $40,290 to $60,740 | 1,400 |
| Arkansas | $44,650 | $39,410 to $49,840 | 1,100 |
| California | $50,640 | $42,940 to $63,540 | 5,730 |
| Colorado | $48,520 | $43,980 to $58,270 | 640 |
| Connecticut | $53,830 | $47,630 to $67,230 | 260 |
| Delaware | $51,460 | $45,850 to $61,080 | 130 |
| Florida | $46,000 | $38,600 to $52,210 | 3,550 |
| Georgia | $47,000 | $38,580 to $51,600 | 3,420 |
| Idaho | $44,690 | $40,370 to $46,880 | 510 |
| Illinois | $53,560 | $46,120 to $63,320 | 10,240 |
| Indiana | $47,650 | $44,020 to $58,670 | 4,840 |
| Iowa | $51,570 | $47,880 to $59,180 | 2,310 |
| Kansas | $50,750 | $43,620 to $64,270 | 1,380 |
| Kentucky | $48,490 | $41,680 to $55,040 | 1,660 |
| Louisiana | $47,330 | $38,230 to $60,240 | 570 |
| Maine | $55,540 | $48,120 to $63,590 | 220 |
| Maryland | $53,480 | $45,090 to $62,370 | 770 |
| Massachusetts | $60,790 | $50,360 to $65,870 | 420 |
| Michigan | $44,310 | $38,240 to $54,410 | 3,040 |
| Minnesota | $59,270 | $50,000 to $65,920 | 1,760 |
| Mississippi | $46,410 | $43,800 to $58,900 | 1,070 |
| Missouri | $50,340 | $44,870 to $62,920 | 2,800 |
| Montana | $38,410 | $35,830 to $49,060 | 280 |
| Nebraska | $49,050 | $44,750 to $56,450 | 940 |
| Nevada | $48,460 | $39,810 to $56,760 | 650 |
| New Hampshire | $51,920 | $49,180 to $60,890 | 310 |
| New Jersey | $57,810 | $46,690 to $65,850 | 2,050 |
| New Mexico | $36,980 | $35,120 to $50,510 | 340 |
| New York | $53,170 | $43,660 to $61,680 | 4,340 |
| North Carolina | $47,020 | $41,090 to $54,800 | 3,400 |
| North Dakota | $48,000 | $46,370 to $53,760 | 260 |
| Ohio | $47,720 | $41,570 to $58,910 | 5,230 |
| Oklahoma | $47,000 | $37,890 to $57,600 | 960 |
| Oregon | $50,420 | $44,920 to $60,670 | 1,090 |
| Pennsylvania | $50,550 | $45,570 to $60,690 | 4,380 |
| Puerto Rico | $31,410 | $26,220 to $36,960 | 660 |
| Rhode Island | $47,610 | $34,800 to $57,690 | 190 |
| South Carolina | $47,740 | $41,290 to $59,180 | 2,560 |
| South Dakota | $49,000 | $42,830 to $50,130 | 510 |
| Tennessee | $47,840 | $39,670 to $54,640 | 1,610 |
| Texas | $45,320 | $37,330 to $54,930 | 6,350 |
| Utah | $47,180 | $39,550 to $56,520 | 1,290 |
| Vermont | $45,420 | $45,420 to $58,900 | 280 |
| Virginia | $49,970 | $45,210 to $60,700 | 1,530 |
| Washington | $53,800 | $46,990 to $63,390 | 2,270 |
| West Virginia | $51,020 | $45,180 to $57,810 | 350 |
| Wisconsin | $52,200 | $46,870 to $62,230 | 3,380 |
| Wyoming | $58,320 | $52,430 to $73,300 | 210 |
Nationally: $48,990. 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 19 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation. | Not published |
| Not rated | Clean work areas. | Not published |
| AI alone | Read work orders to determine production specifications or information. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times. | Not published |
| Not much | Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures. | Not published |
See all 20 tasks
| Not much | Clean and maintain equipment, using hand tools. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record operational or production data on specified forms. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Examine materials, ingredients, or products visually or with hands to ensure conformance to established standards. | Not published |
| Not much | Unload mixtures into containers or onto conveyors for further processing. | Not published |
| Not much | Dump or pour specified amounts of materials into machinery or equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Transfer materials, supplies, or products between work areas, using moving equipment or hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps or conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate or tend machines to mix or blend any of a wide variety of materials, such as spices, dough batter, tobacco, fruit juices, chemicals, livestock feed, food products, color pigments, or explosive ingredients. | Not published |
| Not much | Add or mix chemicals or ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing. | Not published |
| Not much | Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas. | Not published |
| Not much | Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery or equipment, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Open valves to drain slurry from mixers into storage tanks. | 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. 1 of the 20 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 20 tasks fall under 14 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
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Test characteristics of materials or products | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Operate industrial processing or production equipment | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes |
Show all 14 activities
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Collect samples of products or materials | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet36%
- A document or report22%
- An analysis or summary10%
- Configuration or infrastructure4%
- A plan or strategy3%
How they worked with Claude
56% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
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 mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders 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 next
of 3,852 moves out
- 1 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Social and Community Service Managers Very high +7.2% 4%
- 4 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
- 5 Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 3%
Where people moved in from
of 3,778 moves in
- 1 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Social and Community Service Managers Very high +7.2% 3%
- 5 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Low +1.5% 3%
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
- 2% less than high school
- 80% high school
- 12% postsecondary certificate
- 6% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 19 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
27.7% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a certification | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
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
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (TINTER (Paint & Varnish)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders” there.
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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