---
title: "Pourer and Caster, Metal"
description: "Operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/pourer-and-caster-metal"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Pourer and Caster, Metal

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-4052 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-4052.00

Operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.

Also advertised as: Caster; Casting Machine Operator; Casting Operator; DC Caster (Direct Chill Caster); Die Cast Machine Operator; Die Casting Machine Operator; Iron Pourer; Melter.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $51,810 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $24.91/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $38,480 to $72,040, with the middle half between $45,190 and $61,700
- **Total US employment:** 4,560
- **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:** -5.0% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 54/100 — 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 4,560 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $38,480 |
| 25th | $45,190 |
| 50th (median) | $51,810 |
| 75th | $61,700 |
| 90th | $72,040 |
| Mean (average) | $54,290 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TN | $71,880 | $78,241 | 120 |
| MA | $62,820 | $59,400 | Not published by BLS |
| FL | $62,090 | $60,040 | 40 |
| IN | $61,430 | $65,821 | 530 |
| OH | $60,770 | $65,503 | 460 |
| MI | $60,280 | $62,650 | 360 |
| NC | $57,700 | $61,171 | 100 |
| IL | $57,200 | $57,224 | 330 |
| WA | $54,210 | $50,657 | 80 |
| TX | $52,100 | $53,680 | 500 |
| OR | $52,010 | $50,319 | 60 |
| KS | $50,530 | $56,102 | 70 |
| IA | $49,010 | $55,844 | 80 |
| MO | $48,850 | $53,789 | 60 |
| WI | $47,880 | $50,885 | 320 |

8 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 23 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/pourer-and-caster-metal/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/pourer-and-caster-metal.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 4,600 in the 2025–2035 base year to 4,300 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 200 jobs, or -5.0%. Declining: -5.0% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 400 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) | 80.0% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 20.0% |

## What the work involves

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

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.0 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 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- English Language — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Perceptual Speed — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reaction Time — importance 3.1 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 | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.76 |
| I — Investigative | 2.45 |
| A — Artistic | 1.14 |
| S — Social | 1.05 |
| E — Enterprising | 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 | 88.2 |
| ISTP | 78.8 |
| ISFJ | 72.2 |
| ESTJ | 70.2 |
| INTJ | 67.7 |

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.

- [Molder, Shaper, and Caster, Except Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molder-shaper-and-caster) — median $46,170
- [Rolling Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rolling-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $50,140
- [Forging Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forging-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $49,030
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molding-coremaking-and-casting-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $44,350
- [Metal-Refining Furnace Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/metal-refining-furnace-operator-and-tender) — median $54,430
- [Plating Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $43,960
- [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
- [Machine Feeder and Offbearer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/machine-feeder-and-offbearer) — median $41,220
- [Foundry Mold and Coremaker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/foundry-mold-and-coremaker) — median $48,110

## 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/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **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/pourer-and-caster-metal