Best Forging Machine Setter programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic.
28 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 424 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,250 in California across about 750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0501In California → | 424 | 100.0% | 28 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 28 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Anza College Cupertino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 68% | — | — |
| 2 | El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 42% | — | — |
| 3 | Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 48% | — | — |
| 4 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | $45,864 | 31% | — | — |
| 5 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 37% | — | — |
| 6 | Chabot College Hayward, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 47% | — | — |
| 7 | Laney College Oakland, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 31% | — | — |
| 8 | Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 30% | — | — |
| 9 | Norco College Norco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 42% | — | — |
| 10 | Reedley College Reedley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 42% | — | — |
| 11 | San Jose City College San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 34% | — | — |
| 12 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 26% | — | — |
| 13 | College of Marin Kentfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 39% | — | — |
| 14 | Lassen Community College Susanville, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 31% | — | — |
| 15 | Palomar College San Marcos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 38% | — | — |
| 16 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 48% | — | — |
| 17 | Compton College Compton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 27% | — | — |
| 18 | Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 32% | — | — |
| 19 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 31% | — | — |
| 20 | San Bernardino Valley College San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 28% | — | — |
| 21 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 34% | — | — |
| 22 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 46% | — | — |
| 23 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 35% | — | — |
| 24 | City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 40% | — | — |
| 25 | San Diego City College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Machine Tool Technology/Machinist | — | 30% | — | — |
All 28 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Anza College | Cupertino | Public | 49 | 1 |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 45 | 1 |
| Santa Ana College | Santa Ana | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public | 39 | 1 |
| Chabot College | Hayward | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Laney College | Oakland | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Modesto Junior College | Modesto | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Norco College | Norco | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Reedley College | Reedley | Public | 10 | 1 |
| San Jose City College | San Jose | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 8 | 1 |
| College of Marin | Kentfield | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Lassen Community College | Susanville | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Palomar College | San Marcos | Public | 8 | 1 |
What forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $49,030. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic page.
How to become a Forging Machine Setter
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 48.0501Machine Tool Technology/Machinist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Forging Machine Setter?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Machine Tool Technology/Machinist, which awarded 424 degrees in California in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Forging Machine Setter?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Precision Metal Working. Together they graduate about 424 people a year in California.
How much do forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn in California?+
The median is $59,250 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.8% above the U.S. median of $49,030. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic growing?+
BLS projects a -18.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
28 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Blacksmith, Forge Operator, Hammer Operator, Machine Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-4022.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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