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Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
Also Known As:
Batchmaker
Blender
Blending Technician (Blending Tech)
Ink Blender
Issuing Operator
Machine Operator
Mixer
Mixer Operator
Operator
Stock Preparation Operator (Stock Prep Operator)
Wages
Annual wages for Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
94,300
-7% Change From 2024
Explore Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times.
- Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas.
- Transfer materials, supplies, or products between work areas, using moving equipment or hand tools.
- 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.
- Dump or pour specified amounts of materials into machinery or equipment.
- Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment.
- Add or mix chemicals or ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices.
- Clean and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
- Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures.
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
- Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps or conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.
- Dislodge and clear jammed materials or other items from machinery or equipment, using hand tools.
- Examine materials, ingredients, or products visually or with hands to ensure conformance to established standards.
- Record operational or production data on specified forms.
- Read work orders to determine production specifications or information.
- Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation.
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
- Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
- Clean work areas.
- Clean and maintain equipment, using hand tools.
- Open valves to drain slurry from mixers into storage tanks.
- 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.
- Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing.
- Unload mixtures into containers or onto conveyors for further processing.
- Clean work areas.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")