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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $39,200 | $18.85 |
| 25th | $46,080 | $22.15 |
| 50th · Median | $54,430 | $26.17 |
| 75th | $62,810 | $30.20 |
| 90th | $74,470 | $35.81 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (48)
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Record production data, and maintain production logs.
- Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures.
- Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces.
Expand more tasks (9)
- 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.
- Prepare material to load into furnaces, including cleaning, crushing, or applying chemicals, by using crushing machines, shovels, rakes, or sprayers.
- Remove impurities from the surface of molten metal, using strainers.
- Observe operations inside furnaces, using television screens, to ensure that problems do not occur.
- Sprinkle chemicals over molten metal to bring impurities to the surface.
- Direct work crews in the cleaning and repair of furnace walls and flooring.
- Scrape accumulations of metal oxides from floors, molds, and crucibles, and sift and store them for reclamation.
Skills used in this work
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
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