Production
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
Operate or tend furnaces, such as gas, oil, coal, electric-arc or electric induction, open-hearth, or oxygen furnaces, to melt and refine metal before casting or to produce specified types of steel.
Median pay
$54,430
Growth to 2035
−3%
declining
Openings a year
1,400
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders: 64% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Regulate supplies of fuel and air, or control flow of electric current and water coolant to heat furnaces and adjust temperatures.
- Draw smelted metal samples from furnaces or kettles for analysis, and calculate types and amounts of materials needed to ensure that materials meet specifications.
- Weigh materials to be charged into furnaces, using scales.
- Record production data, and maintain production logs.
- Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures.
- Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces.
- Inspect furnaces and equipment to locate defects and wear.
- Drain, transfer, or remove molten metal from furnaces, and place it into molds, using hoists, pumps, or ladles.
Also called: Arc and Argon Oxygen Decarburization Melter (ARC and AOD Melter) · Automatic Furnace Operator · Central Melt Specialist · Control Room Operator · Electric Melt Operator · Furnace Operator · Melt Room Operator · Melter
Outlook and AI
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders held 16,800 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 16,300 by 2035 (−3%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as modern furnaces incorporate more automation in monitoring and controlling of processes and systems. These changes are expected to increase productivity, allowing more output to be produced with the same amount of labor.
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