Occupations · Production
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend bonding machines that use adhesives to join items for further processing or to form a completed product. Processes include joining veneer sheets into plywood; gluing paper; or joining rubber and rubberized fabric parts, plastic, simulated leather, or other materials.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-9191.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 93% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $35,970 | 550 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $54,710 | 490 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $52,890 | 400 |
| Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | $32,060 | 350 |
| Eugene, OR | $42,420 | 330 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $45,870 | 190 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | $34,950 | 190 |
| Medford, OR | $53,170 | 160 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $40,600 | 160 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN | $36,440 | 160 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $59,320 | 150 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $38,380 | 130 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Align and position materials being joined to ensure accurate application of adhesive or heat sealing.
- Adjust machine components according to specifications such as widths, lengths, and thickness of materials and amounts of glue, cement, or adhesive required.
- Monitor machine operations to detect malfunctions and report or resolve problems.
- Start machines, and turn valves or move controls to feed, admit, apply, or transfer materials and adhesives, and to adjust temperature, pressure, and time settings.
- Fill machines with glue, cement, or adhesives.
- Perform test production runs and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that completed products meet standards and specifications.
- Examine and measure completed materials or products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring devices such as tape measures, gauges, or calipers.
- Read work orders and communicate with coworkers to determine machine and equipment settings and adjustments and supply and product specifications.
- Remove and stack completed materials or products, and restock materials to be joined.
- Remove jammed materials from machines and readjust components as necessary to resume normal operations.
- Maintain production records such as quantities, dimensions, and thicknesses of materials processed.
- Observe gauges, meters, and control panels to obtain information about equipment temperatures and pressures, or the speed of feeders or conveyors.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2015-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2015-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 2
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| paperboard products assembler | 8143.5 | close |
| engineered wood board machine operator | 8172.4 | close |
| edge bander operator | 8189.1 | close |
| heat sealing machine operator | 8183.5 | close |
| corrugator operator | 8143.2 | close |
| wood products assembler | 8219.11 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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