Career
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
Run the furnaces that refine metal.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Regulate supplies of fuel and air, or control flow of electric current and water coolant to heat furnaces and adjust temperatures.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $54,430 a year and 1,400 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$48,750 · -9.5%
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders$48,040 · +2.6%
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$51,610 · -5.7%
- Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$47,920 · -8.9%
- Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders$43,530 · +3.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.