Pourers and casters, metal

Pay

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 pourers and casters, metal

What the work is like

Core tasks

• Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms.
• Read temperature gauges and observe color changes, adjusting furnace flames, torches, or electrical heating units as necessary to melt metal to specifications.
• Remove solidified steel or slag from pouring nozzles, using long bars or oxygen burners.
• Examine molds to ensure they are clean, smooth, and properly coated.
• Collect samples, or signal workers to sample metal for analysis.
• Load specified amounts of metal and flux into furnaces or clay crucibles.
• Position equipment such as ladles, grinding wheels, pouring nozzles, or crucibles, or signal other workers to position equipment.
• Skim slag or remove excess metal from ingots or equipment, using hand tools, strainers, rakes, or burners, collecting scrap for recycling.

Also called: Caster · Casting Machine Operator · Casting Operator · DC Caster (Direct Chill Caster) · Die Cast Machine Operator · Die Casting Machine Operator · Iron Pourer · Melter

Outlook and AI

Pourers and casters, metal held 4,600 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 4,300 by 2035 (−5%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).

Productivity change - share decreases as programmable machines, such as robotics and computer-controlled (CNC) machinery, increasingly replace less advanced machinery, increasing efficiency.

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