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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Pourers and Casters, Metal

Operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.

Also called: Caster, Casting Machine Operator, Casting Operator, DC Caster (Direct Chill Caster), Die Cast Machine Operator, Die Casting Machine Operator

Median pay in Greater Boston
$66,120
$31.79/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
40
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.9%
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

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$43,900$57,240$66,120$77,570$91,100

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds and forms to produce ingots or other castings, using ladles or hand-controlled mechanisms.
  • Read temperature gauges and observe color changes, adjusting furnace flames, torches, or electrical heating units as necessary to melt metal to specifications.
  • Remove solidified steel or slag from pouring nozzles, using long bars or oxygen burners.
  • Examine molds to ensure they are clean, smooth, and properly coated.
  • Collect samples, or signal workers to sample metal for analysis.
  • Load specified amounts of metal and flux into furnaces or clay crucibles.

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 16
  • Language-model AIOE 12
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 3

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. The core work is hands-on: pouring hot metal, judging heat by gauges and color, and clearing nozzles. Federal projections say programmable machines, such as robots and computer-controlled equipment, may take over some of this work and reduce the job's share of employment.

Likely to change

  • Computer-controlled machines handling more pouring
  • Recording and analyzing metal sample results

Still relies on people

  • Judging metal heat by color and gauges
  • Clearing nozzles and checking molds by hand

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases as programmable machines, such as robotics and computer-controlled (CNC) machinery, increasingly replace less advanced machinery, increasing efficiency.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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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.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

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