Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders
Also called: Clean in Places Operator (CIP Operator), Sanitation Technician, Sanitation Worker, SanitizerOperate or tend machines to wash or clean products, such as barrels or kegs, glass items, tin plate, food, pulp, coal, plastic, or rubber, to remove impurities.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 3.4% 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, 5.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other production workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.4 hires for every 10 job openings in nondurable goods manufacturing, which employs about 55% 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 | $35,090 | $27,210 to $47,080 | 140 |
| Arizona | $37,900 | $36,710 to $43,170 | 370 |
| Arkansas | $37,490 | $33,700 to $43,040 | 90 |
| California | $45,150 | $40,000 to $49,590 | 2,450 |
| Connecticut | $39,140 | $37,310 to $41,600 | 170 |
| Florida | $36,830 | $31,750 to $39,390 | 170 |
| Georgia | $38,430 | $33,320 to $46,730 | 600 |
| Idaho | $33,660 | $31,560 to $43,270 | not published |
| Illinois | $43,740 | $43,210 to $45,830 | 70 |
| Indiana | $43,820 | $36,260 to $48,450 | 830 |
| Iowa | $46,970 | $42,350 to $56,100 | 430 |
| Kansas | $38,340 | $37,780 to $42,550 | 50 |
| Kentucky | $35,850 | $33,350 to $45,090 | 310 |
| Maine | $64,610 | $43,040 to $76,100 | 40 |
| Massachusetts | $43,210 | $39,690 to $47,540 | 380 |
| Michigan | $44,400 | $37,690 to $49,080 | 820 |
| Minnesota | $42,600 | $38,830 to $49,610 | 70 |
| Mississippi | $34,280 | $32,780 to $42,240 | 90 |
| Missouri | $40,510 | $35,990 to $42,780 | 200 |
| Nebraska | $45,690 | $37,300 to $51,790 | 400 |
| Nevada | $36,490 | $31,590 to $56,220 | 110 |
| New Hampshire | $47,510 | $42,980 to $56,930 | 120 |
| New Jersey | $43,600 | $38,030 to $50,850 | 590 |
| New Mexico | $35,600 | $34,890 to $37,890 | 60 |
| New York | $46,290 | $38,850 to $54,220 | 710 |
| North Carolina | $38,340 | $35,810 to $47,910 | 260 |
| North Dakota | $48,240 | $42,940 to $49,660 | 60 |
| Ohio | $45,470 | $37,910 to $52,150 | 1,010 |
| Oklahoma | $40,950 | $37,890 to $46,220 | 450 |
| Oregon | $49,130 | $41,190 to $51,200 | 70 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,000 | $44,390 to $53,010 | 370 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,620 | $22,260 to $28,130 | 310 |
| South Carolina | $39,240 | $34,140 to $48,870 | 320 |
| South Dakota | $44,770 | $42,080 to $44,770 | 60 |
| Tennessee | $41,110 | $34,900 to $45,740 | 120 |
| Texas | $37,040 | $33,560 to $47,100 | 1,380 |
| Utah | $39,970 | $38,010 to $45,220 | 120 |
| Virginia | $45,330 | $36,010 to $64,960 | 140 |
| Washington | $45,600 | $41,050 to $48,530 | 180 |
| Wisconsin | $54,290 | $48,580 to $58,920 | 310 |
Nationally: $43,530. 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 1 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Set controls to regulate temperature and length of cycles, and start conveyors, pumps, agitators, and machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Drain, clean, and refill machines or tanks at designated intervals, using cleaning solutions or water. | Not published |
| Not much | Add specified amounts of chemicals to equipment at required times to maintain solution levels and concentrations. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe machine operations, gauges, or thermometers, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine and inspect machines to detect malfunctions. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record gauge readings, materials used, processing times, or test results in production logs. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Operate or tend machines to wash and remove impurities from items such as barrels or kegs, glass products, tin plate surfaces, dried fruit, pulp, animal stock, coal, manufactured articles, plastic, or rubber. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure, weigh, or mix cleaning solutions, using measuring tanks, calibrated rods or suction tubes. | Not published |
| Not much | Load machines with objects to be processed and unload them after cleaning, placing them on conveyors or racks. | Not published |
| Not much | Draw samples for laboratory analysis, or test solutions for conformance to specifications, such as acidity or specific gravity. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust, clean, and lubricate mechanical parts of machines, using hand tools and grease guns. | 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 11 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 11 tasks fall under 15 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Test characteristics of materials or products | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Maintain operational records |
Show all 15 activities
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Collect samples of products or materials | |||
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Operate industrial processing or production equipment | |||
| 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 cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment 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 in from
of 227 moves in
- 1 Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping Moderate -4.8% 8%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 7%
- 3 Data Entry Keyers Very high -25.5% 5%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers High +5.4% 3%
- 6 Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians High +3.1% 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
- 1% postsecondary certificate
- 4% some college
- 4% associate's
- 91% not published
O*NET marks 91% 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 · 18 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 17% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 19% some college
- 7% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other production workers” · 14,074 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 “Other production workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
<50% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | not published | |
| a certification | not published | |
| an educational certificate | 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
- 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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