Pourers and Casters, Metal
Also called: Caster, Melter, Metal Handler, PourerOperate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 16 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 5.0% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.5% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.4 hires for every 10 job openings in durable goods manufacturing, which employs about 100% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $47,330 | $44,040 to $56,100 | 160 |
| Arkansas | $45,410 | $39,690 to $63,530 | 90 |
| California | $44,150 | $39,230 to $49,950 | 240 |
| Florida | $62,090 | $59,320 to $80,900 | 40 |
| Illinois | $57,200 | $50,570 to $84,290 | 330 |
| Indiana | $61,430 | $45,930 to $61,700 | 530 |
| Iowa | $49,010 | $46,650 to $57,120 | 80 |
| Kansas | $50,530 | $41,820 to $55,500 | 70 |
| Kentucky | $38,800 | $38,800 to $64,940 | 60 |
| Massachusetts | $62,820 | $49,550 to $72,850 | not published |
| Michigan | $60,280 | $44,860 to $60,280 | 360 |
| Mississippi | $43,370 | $38,130 to $50,570 | 30 |
| Missouri | $48,850 | $47,920 to $58,730 | 60 |
| North Carolina | $57,700 | $45,090 to $58,900 | 100 |
| Ohio | $60,770 | $46,160 to $70,380 | 460 |
| Oregon | $52,010 | $46,670 to $62,580 | 60 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,220 | $42,700 to $49,780 | 290 |
| Tennessee | $71,880 | $61,360 to $72,690 | 120 |
| Texas | $52,100 | $47,210 to $62,640 | 500 |
| Utah | $45,140 | $39,220 to $46,180 | 30 |
| Virginia | $39,420 | $37,780 to $49,820 | 60 |
| Washington | $54,210 | $48,890 to $89,170 | 80 |
| Wisconsin | $47,880 | $47,160 to $62,040 | 320 |
Nationally: $51,810. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 16 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms. | Not published |
| Not much | Skim slag or remove excess metal from ingots or equipment, using hand tools, strainers, rakes, or burners, collecting scrap for recycling. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect samples, or signal workers to sample metal for analysis. | Not published |
| Not much | Load specified amounts of metal and flux into furnaces or clay crucibles. | Not published |
| Not much | Read temperature gauges and observe color changes, adjusting furnace flames, torches, or electrical heating units as necessary to melt metal to specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Position equipment such as ladles, grinding wheels, pouring nozzles, or crucibles, or signal other workers to position equipment. | Not published |
See all 16 tasks
| Not much | Examine molds to ensure they are clean, smooth, and properly coated. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove solidified steel or slag from pouring nozzles, using long bars or oxygen burners. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove metal ingots or cores from molds, using hand tools, cranes, and chain hoists. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair and maintain metal forms and equipment, using hand tools, sledges, and bars. | Not published |
| Not much | Pull levers to lift ladle stoppers and to allow molten steel to flow into ingot molds to specified heights. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn valves to circulate water through cores, or spray water on filled molds to cool and solidify metal. | Not published |
| Not much | Assemble and embed cores in casting frames, using hand tools and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Transport metal ingots to storage areas, using forklifts. | Not published |
| Not much | Add metal to molds to compensate for shrinkage. | Not published |
| Not much | Stencil identifying information on ingots and pigs, using special hand tools. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 16 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 16 tasks fall under 17 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Signal others to coordinate work activities | |||
| Remove workpieces from production equipment | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Repair workpieces or products | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Cut materials |
Show all 17 activities
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Collect samples of products or materials | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment | |||
| Prepare industrial materials for processing or use | |||
| Engrave objects | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for pourers and casters, metal specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 94 moves in
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 28%
- 25 Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks High -7.6% 1%
- 26 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Very high +6.1% 0%
- 27 Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers High +3.7% 0%
- 28 Loan Officers Very high +1.1% 0%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 20% less than high school
- 80% high school
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 52% high school
- 21% some college
- 8% associate's
- 4% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers” · 3,391 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
27.4% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a certification | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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