Production
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.
Also called: Arc and Argon Oxygen Decarburization Melter (ARC and AOD Melter), Automatic Furnace Operator, Central Melt Specialist, Control Room Operator, Electric Melt Operator, Furnace Operator
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $56,710
- $27.27/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 160
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +1.4%
- 10 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- High school diploma or equivalent
- plus Moderate-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $43,180 | $46,120 | $56,710 | $66,200 | $78,880 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- 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.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure10 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 11
- Language-model AIOE 7
- GPTs-are-GPTs 11
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
This job has lower AI exposure, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools could help with recording production data or working out material amounts. Watching gauges and metal color, adjusting controls, and drawing samples from hot furnaces are hands-on tasks. The bigger change is furnace automation, which means more output with the same labor.
Likely to change
- Keeping production logs and records
- Calculating materials needed for each batch
Still relies on people
- Watching gauges and metal color in person
- Drawing samples and adjusting controls safely
What federal projections say
“Productivity change - share decreases as modern furnaces incorporate more automation in monitoring and controlling of processes and systems. These changes are expected to increase productivity, allowing more output to be produced with the same amount of labor.”
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
You already know metal and heat-related safety. Welding builds on that and has 4.2% projected growth with a higher median pay.
- Pay difference
- +$7,060 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +4.2%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Your experience with metal and safe work habits carries over. This apprenticeship trade has a much higher Boston median pay and 6.1% projected growth.
- Pay difference
- +$64,130 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +6.1%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Checking equipment regularly and following strict safety rules carry over. This job has 13.3% projected growth and a much higher Boston median pay, but training is long-term.
- Pay difference
- +$54,780 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +13.3%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
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Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
Talk to a career coach