Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend heating equipment, such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, anneal, or heat treat metal or plastic objects.
What it pays
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn a median of $23.44/hr — about $49,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.92/hr; the top 10% earn $31.90/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic earn a median of $23.44/hr — about $49,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.92/hr; the top 10% earn $31.90/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
- Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
- Adjust controls to maintain temperatures and heating times, using thermal instruments and charts, dials and gauges of furnaces, and color of stock in furnaces to make setting determinations.
- Start conveyors and open furnace doors to load stock, or signal crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.
- Set up and operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
- Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the day is spent working solo; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 1% of heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic make?
- The median pay is $23.44 per hour — roughly $49,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.92/hr (10th percentile) to $31.90/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic actually do all day?
- Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated. Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times. Adjust controls to maintain temperatures and heating times, using thermal instruments and charts, dials and gauges of furnaces, and color of stock in furnaces to make setting determinations.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.