Also called: Cleaning and Pickling Equipment Operators
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders build operation and control, operations monitoring and time management skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders (89%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders | 89% | $38,180 | −12% | None |
| 2 | Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 85% | $48,750 | +12% | None |
| 3 | Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders | 83% | $44,810 | +3% | None |
| 4 | Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers | 83% | $34,890 | −20% | None |
| 5 | Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders | 83% | $41,590 | −4% | None |
| 6 | Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 82% | $54,430 | +25% | None |
| 7 | Machine Feeders and Offbearers | 81% | $41,220 | −5% | None |
| 8 | Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 81% | $43,960 | +1% | None |
| 9 | Food Batchmakers | 80% | $42,290 | −3% | None |
| 10 | Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 79% | $96,710 | +122% | None |
Compared with Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders, median $43,530. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
89% skill match · $38,180 · −12% pay
Installation · Repairing · Operations Monitoring
85% skill match · $48,750 · +12% pay
Repairing · Instructing · Equipment Maintenance
83% skill match · $44,810 · +3% pay
Installation · Quality Control Analysis · Complex Problem Solving
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders (89% skill match, median $38,180), Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (85% skill match, median $48,750) and Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders (83% skill match, median $44,810), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 17 pay more than cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders at the median. The biggest increases: Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (+122%, $96,710), Chemical Plant and System Operators (+79%, $78,120) and Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators (+78%, $77,320).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.