Machine Feeders and Offbearers
Feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.
42,330 people do this job in the US. $41,220 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 5%
- 0%
- 95%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 5%. Today's estimate: 5%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 13 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and maintain machinery, equipment, and work areas to ensure proper functioning and safe working conditions.Done daily by most who do it. | 18% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Fasten, package, or stack materials and products, using hand tools and fastening equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Load materials and products into machines and equipment, or onto conveyors, using hand tools and moving devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove materials and products from machines and equipment, and place them in boxes, trucks or conveyors, using hand tools and moving devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect materials and products for defects, and to ensure conformance to specifications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 8 min2 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Transfer materials and products to and from machinery and equipment, using industrial trucks or hand trucks.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Record production and operational data, such as amount of materials processed.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Shovel or scoop materials into containers, machines, or equipment for processing, storage, or transport.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 10 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Weigh or measure materials or products to ensure conformance to specifications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Identify and mark materials, products, and samples, following instructions.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 4 min1 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Add chemicals, solutions, or ingredients to machines or equipment as required by the manufacturing process.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Push dual control buttons and move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 3 min1 min to 8 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders7% now, 7% by 2028
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders9% now, 9% by 2028
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders14% now, 14% by 2028
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing7% now, 7% by 2028
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders0% now, 0% by 2028
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).