---
title: "Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operator and Tender"
description: "Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/furnace-kiln-oven-drier-and-kettle-operator-and-tender"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operator and Tender

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-9051 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-9051.00

Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.

Also advertised as: Annealing Operator; Dry Kiln Operator; Dryer Feeder; Evaporator Operator; Furnace Operator; Kiln Fireman; Kiln Operator; Lime Kiln and Recausticizing Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $48,040 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.10/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,960 to $69,800, with the middle half between $41,130 and $59,830
- **Total US employment:** 14,280
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.6% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,800 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 49/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 14,280 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,960 |
| 25th | $41,130 |
| 50th (median) | $48,040 |
| 75th | $59,830 |
| 90th | $69,800 |
| Mean (average) | $50,940 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MD | $77,440 | $73,781 | 100 |
| KY | $75,620 | $83,874 | 240 |
| IL | $62,870 | $62,896 | 230 |
| KS | $62,350 | $69,225 | 210 |
| WY | $62,130 | $67,029 | 50 |
| ND | $60,170 | $67,638 | 70 |
| WA | $58,580 | $54,741 | 430 |
| ID | $57,690 | $60,412 | 120 |
| WI | $56,140 | $59,663 | 210 |
| CO | $55,770 | $54,118 | 100 |
| MA | $53,300 | $50,399 | 120 |
| MT | $53,250 | $56,263 | 100 |
| VT | $52,560 | $53,656 | 50 |
| NJ | $52,440 | $48,196 | 300 |
| GA | $50,820 | $52,776 | 870 |

28 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 43 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/furnace-kiln-oven-drier-and-kettle-operator-and-tender/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/furnace-kiln-oven-drier-and-kettle-operator-and-tender.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 14,500 in the 2025–2035 base year to 14,900 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 400 jobs, or +2.6%. About as fast as average: 2.6% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 55.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 21.4% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 15.9% |
| Some College Courses | 3.9% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 1.8% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 1.0% |

## What the work involves

- Confer with supervisors or other equipment operators to report equipment malfunctions or to resolve production problems.
- Monitor equipment operation, gauges, and panel lights to detect deviations from standards.
- Press and adjust controls to activate, set, and regulate equipment according to specifications.
- Read and interpret work orders and instructions to determine work assignments, process specifications, and production schedules.
- Record gauge readings, test results, and shift production in log books.
- Examine or test samples of processed substances, or collect samples for laboratory testing, to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Transport materials and products to and from work areas, manually or using carts, handtrucks, or hoists.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.83 |
| C — Conventional | 4.38 |
| I — Investigative | 2.08 |
| S — Social | 1.29 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.21 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 89.4 |
| ISFJ | 75.8 |
| ISTP | 75.7 |
| ESTJ | 73.8 |
| INTJ | 64.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/separating-filtering-clarifying-precipitating-and-still-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $51,610
- [Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $45,760
- [Metal-Refining Furnace Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/metal-refining-furnace-operator-and-tender) — median $54,430
- [Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/heat-treating-equipment-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $48,750
- [Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cleaning-washing-and-metal-pickling-equipment-operator-and-tender) — median $43,530
- [Machine Feeder and Offbearer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/machine-feeder-and-offbearer) — median $41,220
- [Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/textile-bleaching-and-dyeing-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $38,180
- [Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crushing-grinding-and-polishing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $48,540
- [Adhesive Bonding Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/adhesive-bonding-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $46,460
- [Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/food-and-tobacco-roasting-baking-and-drying-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $44,810

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/furnace-kiln-oven-drier-and-kettle-operator-and-tender