Pourers and Casters, Metal
Production
The work is pouring molten metal from ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms into molds to make castings and ingots. Temperature gauges and the color of the melt guide adjustments to furnace flames, torches, or electrical heaters. Between pours, metal and flux go into furnaces, molds are checked for a clean coat, slag is skimmed, and nozzles are cleared with long bars or oxygen burners. Samples are taken for analysis, and others are signaled to move ladles or equipment. Fits people who want close control of a hot pour, careful timing, and crew work around furnaces.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$51'810
Median Wage Market Position
$51'810
What you might do
- Pour molten metal into molds with ladles
- Watch metal color and adjust the furnace heat
- Check molds are clean, smooth, and coated
- Load metal and flux into furnaces
- Skim slag and collect scrap for recycling
- Clear hardened metal from pouring nozzles
Skills that matter
- Controlling how molten metal enters molds
- Adjusting flames until the metal is ready
- Clearing slag from nozzles and ingots
- Inspecting molds before every pour
- Signaling the crew to move ladles
- Deciding when a heat is ready to cast
AI & the future of this role
Molten metal work remains hard to fully automate because of heat, timing, and mold variability that reward careful hands-on control. Robotics may assist pouring lines, yet in-person judgment around quality and safety is likely to keep solid footing.
Does Pourers and Casters, Metal fit your values?
Take the free LostInCareer assessment to see personalized matches based on your core values—not just a personality label.
Related careers
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
- Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details