How To Become A Plater: What It Is and Career Path

What is a plater and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a plater. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.88 an hour? That's $41,355 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePlaterUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,355

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.2

Growth Rate -5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 6.83%

Black or African American 9.22%

Hispanic or Latino 18.50%

Unknown 4.18%

White 60.45%

Gender

female 12.16%

male 87.84%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.2

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a plater

Explore plater education requirements

Most common plater degrees

High School Diploma

49.7 %

Associate

17.9 %

Diploma

15.7 %

Start to develop specific plater skills

Skills	Percentages
Calipers	13.05%
CAD	12.75%
Hoists	11.85%
Hazardous Materials	11.54%
FAA	9.49%

Complete relevant plater training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New platers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a plater based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real plater resumes.

Research plater duties and responsibilities

Grit blast waxed parts and trim by adjusting air pressure require by the traveler.
Barrel plait computer parts, administer test for quality, and run computerized plating machine.
Certify to work on nuclear and FAA restrict parts.
Plait small objects, such as nuts and bolts, using motor-driven barrel.

Prepare your plater resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your plater resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a plater resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Plater Resume templates

Build a professional Plater resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Plater resume.

Apply for plater jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a plater job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do platers rate their job?