Production · Holland code RC

Pourers and Casters, Metal

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

Also called: Caster, Melter, Metal Handler, Pourer, Casting Machine Operator, Casting Operator, DC Caster (Direct Chill Caster), Die Cast Machine Operator.

O*NET 51-4052.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $51,810; Middle half earn $45,190 to $61,700. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 80% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms.
Read temperature gauges and observe color changes, adjusting furnace flames, torches, or electrical heating units as necessary to melt metal to specifications.
Remove solidified steel or slag from pouring nozzles, using long bars or oxygen burners.
Assemble and embed cores in casting frames, using hand tools and equipment.
Examine molds to ensure they are clean, smooth, and properly coated.
Collect samples, or signal workers to sample metal for analysis.
Turn valves to circulate water through cores, or spray water on filled molds to cool and solidify metal.
Load specified amounts of metal and flux into furnaces or clay crucibles.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.8 / 5
Speaking2.8 / 5
Active Learning2.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language3.1 / 5
Production and Processing2.8 / 5
Education and Training2.6 / 5
Mechanical2.5 / 5
Administration and Management2.2 / 5
Mathematics2.2 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic100
Investigative24
Artistic2
Social1
Enterprising0
Conventional46

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

foundry operative · DE Gießereimechaniker/Gießereimechanikerin · FR opérateur en fonderie/opératrice en fonderie
coquille casting worker · DE Gießereimechaniker Schwerpunkt Druck- und Kokillenguss/Gießereimechanikerin Schwerpunkt Druck- und Kokillenguss · FR coquilleur en fonderie/coquilleuse en fonderie
foundry moulder · DE Gießereimechaniker Schwerpunkt Kernherstellung/Gießereimechanikerin Schwerpunkt Kernherstellung · FR mouleur en fonderie/mouleuse en fonderie
mouldmaker · DE Gießereimechaniker Schwerpunkt Handformguss/Gießereimechanikerin Schwerpunkt Handformguss · FR mouleur noyauteur/mouleuse noyauteuse
casting mould maker · DE Technischer Modellbauer Fachrichtung Gießerei/Technische Modellbauerin Fachrichtung Gießerei · FR modeleur mouliste/modeleuse mouliste
moulding machine operator · DE Gießereimechaniker Fachrichtung Maschinenformguss/Gießereimechanikerin Fachrichtung Maschinenformguss · FR mouleur/mouleuse

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Tool makers, tool fitters and markers-out (5222)8,600 employed
Plastics process operatives (8114)18,200 employed
Metal machining setters and setter-operators (5221)40,400 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Craft and related trades workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,086
Germany	€38,638
Austria	€38,194
Sweden	€37,856
Netherlands	€37,077
Ireland	€36,098
France	€27,145
Italy	€26,488
Spain	€22,817
Portugal	€11,142
Poland	€10,099

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.01. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-4052).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test