A molding job advertised at $24 an hour can pay more during the scheduled week than one advertised at $25—if the first includes a shift premium. It can also come with a schedule you do not want. Compare the components before comparing the headline numbers.
This guide provides U.S. wage benchmarks for occupations found in plastics manufacturing and a worked comparison of two invented offers. The national figures describe broad occupations across industries. They are not a survey of injection molding plants or a salary schedule for technician levels.
National benchmarks, with the arithmetic visible
The hourly medians below come from the BLS May 2025 national OEWS table. The last column is our calculation: that hourly figure × 2,080 hours, rounded to the nearest dollar. It is an annualized comparison amount, not a separately retrieved annual median or a promised annual paycheck.
| BLS occupation and SOC | Median per hour | Hourly median × 2,080 |
|---|---|---|
| Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 51-4072 | $21.32 | $44,346 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 51-9061 | $23.35 | $48,568 |
| Tool and die makers 51-4111 | $30.79 | $64,043 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics 49-9041 | $31.02 | $64,522 |
| Industrial engineers 17-2112 | $49.25 | $102,440 |
| Materials engineers 17-2131 | $54.26 | $112,861 |
Read the source's column headers carefully: its annual column reports a mean, while the last column reports an hourly median. Those are different measures. A median marks the middle of the wage distribution; it is not an entry rate or a seniority grade.
BLS's OEWS definitions explain that the wage measure excludes overtime pay and shift differentials, among other items. It is not take-home pay or a valuation of the benefits package. That is why an offer including night-shift compensation cannot be compared directly with a national base-like wage benchmark without separating the components.
A job title is not an occupational code
Use the work described in the vacancy to choose a comparison. O*NET's broad 51-4072.00 profile includes reported titles such as mold setter and process technician, but it also covers metal casting and other molding work. Its inclusion of a title does not produce a separate wage estimate for an injection molding process technician.
| Work you are comparing | Possible benchmark | Limit to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Running or setting a molding machine | 51-4072 | Mixes processes and responsibilities; no separate process-technician tier. |
| Inspecting production parts | 51-9061 | Broader than plastics inspection; not automatically a quality-engineer comparison. |
| Making or repairing production tooling | 51-4111 | Tooling work differs from operating the molding process. |
| Diagnosing and repairing industrial machinery | 49-9041 | Scope and qualifications must match; the plant's “maintenance” title may cover other work. |
| Engineering work | 17-2112 or 17-2131, depending on duties | Neither category isolates injection molding engineers or polymer specialists. |
These rows are separate occupations, not six steps on a guaranteed promotion ladder. When a vacancy combines setup, maintenance, and process development, ask which duties dominate and how the employer grades the position. Averaging unrelated occupational medians will not produce a reliable wage for that mixed role.
Two offers: separate base pay, shift premium, and uncertain extras
Constructed comparison. The offers below are invented, not current vacancies. Both assume 40 paid straight-time hours per week. In Offer A, every one of those hours qualifies for the stated shift premium. The annual figures assume 52 such weeks. No overtime, bonus, tax, deduction, or benefit valuation is included.
| Component | Offer A: night shift | Offer B: day shift |
|---|---|---|
| Base rate | $24.00/hour | $25.00/hour |
| Eligible shift premium | $1.50/hour | $0.00/hour |
| Base pay for 40 hours | $960 | $1,000 |
| Shift premium for 40 hours | $60 | $0 |
| Scheduled weekly gross | $1,020 | $1,000 |
| Annualized base alone | $49,920 | $52,000 |
| Annualized gross with stated shift premium | $53,040 | $52,000 |
Offer B's base is $1 an hour higher. Under the stated assumptions, Offer A's scheduled gross is $20 a week higher, or $1,040 over 52 weeks. Whether that difference is attractive depends on the schedule and the rest of the offer. If A moves to a shift that does not qualify for the premium, the comparison changes.
Ask which hours qualify for a premium, including training, paid leave, and temporary shift assignments. Replace the exercise's 2,080-hour assumption with the actual paid schedule when it differs. Do not assume that a pattern of 12-hour shifts is equivalent to 40 paid hours every week.
Keep overtime and benefits on separate lines
If a recruiter quotes annual earnings “with overtime,” ask for the base rate, scheduled hours, overtime assumptions, and applicable pay terms in writing. Calculate an offer without uncertain extra hours first. Add a separate scenario only when the rate and hours are specified; this guide does not calculate legal overtime entitlements.
Compare benefits using their actual terms rather than assigning them a guessed dollar value. Useful questions include employee health-plan premiums and coverage, paid leave, retirement contribution and vesting rules, and any conditions on tuition or training assistance. The larger wage number may not answer the question you care about most.
Move from a national reference to a real decision
Use the OEWS data portal to locate the same occupation for your state or metropolitan area, retaining the reference year and wage measure. BLS also publishes national industry-specific estimates. A national occupation estimate, a local occupation estimate, and a plastics-industry estimate describe different groups; label them separately.
Then compare current employer postings for work you could actually perform. Save the requisition ID, location, date, shift, stated range, and experience requirements. A handful of vacancies is a set of examples, not a local salary survey. A posted upper endpoint also does not establish the rate an employer would offer you.
For an experienced technician, bring evidence of the responsibilities you can own: a qualified setup task, a documented troubleshooting contribution, or approved training responsibility. Ask how those duties map to the employer's pay structure. Do not assume that completing a course automatically changes the wage.
What number should you use in a pay conversation?
Use a defined comparison: “This is the base range for the duties and shift we discussed; this is the separate premium; these are the scheduled hours.” National statistics can provide context, but the employer must explain the actual role and offer. The job-description guide helps clarify responsibility, and the interview exercises help you explain the evidence behind your experience.
Update scope: the six hourly medians were rechecked against the cited May 2025 BLS table. This revision distinguishes occupational coverage, source measures, annualization, and offer components. MTF did not conduct an employer wage survey or use figures from an unread paid salary report.