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Field

Production

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a sector view — every production career CareerStar rates, on the same neutral baseline, with field-level stats up top so you can size up the whole field at a glance.

How to use it: the table is ranked best-first. Click any career for its full report, and watch the moat column — 🏰 wide means well-shielded from AI, — means broadly exposed.

Careers
97
Median score
29
Avg growth
-5.3%
Wide moats
8/97

Every production career, on a neutral baseline · median pay $47k · click a career for its full report · moat = how shielded from AI (🏰 wide = well-defended, 🛡 narrow = some shelter, — = broadly exposed)

CareerRatingMoatGrowthPay
Semiconductor processing technicians4.5 · 56🛡 Narrow+10.9%$51k
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers4.0 · 51+12.8%$66k
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic4.0 · 51🛡 Narrow+6.2%$46k
Stationary engineers and boiler operators4.0 · 49🛡 Narrow+2.2%$75k
Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders3.5 · 48🏰 Wide+7.2%$40k
Food batchmakers3.5 · 48🏰 Wide+6.9%$41k
Chemical equipment operators and tenders3.5 · 47🏰 Wide+3.3%$57k
Fiberglass laminators and fabricators3.5 · 45🛡 Narrow+4.2%$46k
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers3.5 · 44🏰 Wide+5.5%$38k
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders3.5 · 44🛡 Narrow+4.5%$41k
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers3.5 · 44🛡 Narrow-2.8%$98k
Tire builders3.5 · 44🛡 Narrow+2.3%$56k
Medical appliance technicians3.5 · 43🛡 Narrow+3.7%$47k
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers3.0 · 42🛡 Narrow+1.2%$71k
Power distributors and dispatchers3.0 · 42-3.2%$107k
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers3.0 · 41🛡 Narrow+5.4%$34k
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers3.0 · 41+2.2%$51k
Bakers3.0 · 40+5.6%$37k
Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders3.0 · 40+3.6%$41k
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders3.0 · 40+3%$47k
Gas plant operators3.0 · 39🛡 Narrow-8.8%$83k
Power plant operators3.0 · 39🛡 Narrow-11.2%$100k
Nuclear power reactor operators3.0 · 38🛡 Narrow-15.3%$123k
Chemical plant and system operators3.0 · 37🛡 Narrow-6.1%$74k
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic3.0 · 36🛡 Narrow+1.2%$47k
Machinists3.0 · 36🛡 Narrow+0%$56k
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders3.0 · 35🛡 Narrow+0.7%$48k
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders3.0 · 35🛡 Narrow+2%$45k
Layout workers, metal and plastic2.5 · 34🛡 Narrow-5.4%$62k
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders2.5 · 34🛡 Narrow-2.3%$56k
Slaughterers and meat packers2.5 · 34🛡 Narrow+2.2%$40k
Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders2.5 · 33🛡 Narrow+1%$45k
Ophthalmic laboratory technicians2.5 · 33🛡 Narrow+2.3%$38k
Painting, coating, and decorating workers2.5 · 33🛡 Narrow+1.4%$41k
Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers2.5 · 32🏰 Wide-14.5%$62k
Tool and die makers2.5 · 32🛡 Narrow-10.8%$63k
Fabric and apparel patternmakers2.5 · 31-10.2%$68k
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders2.5 · 31🛡 Narrow+0.6%$43k
Model makers, metal and plastic2.5 · 31🛡 Narrow-18.2%$63k
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.5 · 31🛡 Narrow-0.5%$46k
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators2.5 · 31🏰 Wide-6.5%$58k
Butchers and meat cutters2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow+1%$39k
Food cooking machine operators and tenders2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow+0.6%$41k
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers2.5 · 30+0%$47k
Model makers, wood2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow-4.5%$52k
Patternmakers, wood2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow-5%$53k
Pourers and casters, metal2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow-4.7%$49k
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders2.5 · 30🛡 Narrow-4.3%$50k
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-1.6%$46k
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-2.5%$47k
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-2.3%$46k
Dental laboratory technicians2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-4.7%$48k
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-1.1%$45k
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders2.0 · 29🛡 Narrow-6.3%$49k
Upholsterers2.0 · 29-1.8%$46k
Etchers and engravers2.0 · 28🛡 Narrow-0.7%$40k
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers2.0 · 28-5.5%$49k
Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood2.0 · 28🛡 Narrow-0.6%$40k
Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners2.0 · 28🏰 Wide-7.8%$49k
Engine and other machine assemblers2.0 · 27🛡 Narrow-21.1%$53k
Patternmakers, metal and plastic2.0 · 27🛡 Narrow-24.4%$55k
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing2.0 · 27🛡 Narrow-1.8%$40k
Coil winders, tapers, and finishers2.0 · 26-6.3%$47k
Computer numerically controlled tool operators2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-10.7%$50k
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-18.9%$49k
Furniture finishers2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-3.3%$43k
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-6.8%$48k
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-8.3%$49k
Structural metal fabricators and fitters2.0 · 26🛡 Narrow-16.3%$50k
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 25🛡 Narrow-13.6%$49k
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 25🛡 Narrow-3.8%$41k
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders2.0 · 25🛡 Narrow-9%$47k
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 24🛡 Narrow-12.8%$47k
Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic2.0 · 24-14.4%$48k
Photographic process workers and processing machine operators2.0 · 24-2.6%$40k
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers2.0 · 24-4.5%$41k
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic1.5 · 23🛡 Narrow-12.1%$46k
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic1.5 · 23🏰 Wide-19.6%$47k
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic1.5 · 23🛡 Narrow-12%$45k
Printing press operators1.5 · 23🛡 Narrow-8.1%$45k
Shoe machine operators and tenders1.5 · 23🛡 Narrow-3.7%$38k
Foundry mold and coremakers1.5 · 22🛡 Narrow-25.9%$46k
Prepress technicians and workers1.5 · 22-14.6%$47k
Shoe and leather workers and repairers1.5 · 22🛡 Narrow-3.8%$36k
Grinding and polishing workers, hand1.5 · 21🛡 Narrow-21.2%$42k
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic1.5 · 21🛡 Narrow-13.6%$42k
Helpers--production workers1.0 · 20-8.9%$38k
Print binding and finishing workers1.0 · 20🛡 Narrow-16.1%$40k
Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders1.0 · 20-11.2%$38k
Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders1.0 · 20🛡 Narrow-9%$38k
Timing device assemblers and adjusters1.0 · 20🛡 Narrow-17.5%$41k
Cutters and trimmers, hand1.0 · 19🛡 Narrow-18.1%$39k
Sewers, hand1.0 · 19🛡 Narrow-7%$34k
Sewing machine operators1.0 · 19🛡 Narrow-10.8%$36k
Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders1.0 · 19-10.1%$37k
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders1.0 · 19🛡 Narrow-11.7%$38k
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials1.0 · 17🛡 Narrow-13.5%$34k