Occupations · Production
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-4191.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 67% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $42,320 | 700 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $48,240 | 630 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $52,470 | 570 |
| Cleveland, OH | $46,030 | 430 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $48,170 | 420 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $43,600 | 320 |
| Toledo, OH | $53,610 | 290 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $56,990 | 250 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $47,950 | 240 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | $47,770 | 230 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $46,960 | 220 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $43,580 | 200 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
- Determine flame temperatures, current frequencies, heating cycles, and induction heating coils needed, based on degree of hardness required and properties of stock to be treated.
- Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
- Determine types and temperatures of baths and quenching media needed to attain specified part hardness, toughness, and ductility, using heat-treating charts and knowledge of methods, equipment, and metals.
- Examine parts to ensure metal shades and colors conform to specifications, using knowledge of metal heat-treating.
- 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.
- Set and adjust speeds of reels and conveyors for prescribed time cycles to pass parts through continuous furnaces.
- 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.
- Load parts into containers and place containers on conveyors to be inserted into furnaces, or insert parts into furnaces.
- Test parts for hardness, using hardness testing equipment, or by examining and feeling samples.
- Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2016-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2016-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 2
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| metal annealer | 8121.3 | close |
| metal furnace operator | 3135.1 | broader |
| plastic heat treatment equipment operator | 8142.10 | broader |
| heat treatment furnace operator | 7223.9 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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