Occupation: 51-4190

Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Statistics
National
State
City
State
City
$47450
Median Wage (USD, 2024)
1200
Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)
-12.8%
Projected Growth (2024-2034)
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.

Experience Requirements Overview

  • Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
  • Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
  • Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
  • Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

Related Work Experience: N.A.

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months

On-the-Job Training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months

Detailed Work Activities

  • Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
  • Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
  • Record operational or production data.
  • Operate heating or drying equipment.
  • Determine metal or plastic production methods.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

  • 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.

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Initiative

Adaptability

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Humility

Sincerity

Sincerity

Empathy

Empathy

Cooperation

Cooperation

Optimism

Optimism

Social Orientation

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Dependability

Integrity

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.