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.
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
Median pay (national)
$55,770
$38,760–$80,280 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
20,330
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
-2.3%
~2,000 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for metal-refining furnace operators and tenders shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $80,280 versus $38,760 at the bottom 10% — 2.1x. The median of $55,770 leaves roughly 44% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change -2.3% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 2,000 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 39 states with released data, Indiana pays the most for this role (median $75,630, +36% vs the national median), while Mississippi sits lowest at $38,370 — a 97% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures.
- 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.
- Kindle fires, and shovel fuel and other materials into furnaces or onto conveyors by hand, with hoists, or by directing crane operators.
- Record production data, and maintain production logs.
- Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces.
- Prepare material to load into furnaces, including cleaning, crushing, or applying chemicals, by using crushing machines, shovels, rakes, or sprayers.
Tools & technology
- Process control software
- Process safety management software
- Production tracking system software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry
- Mathematics