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Pourers and Casters, Metal in Iowa

Thinking about a career as a Pourers and Casters, Metal in Iowa? Here’s what the data says. Operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.

What do Pourers and Casters, Metal Make in Iowa?

The pourers and casters, metal working in Iowa, the median annual wage is $54,320 per year (or about $26.12/hour).Pay can range from $40,060 at the 10th percentile to $74,520 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$40,060	$19.26
25th percentile	$43,490	$20.91
Median (50th)	$54,320	$26.12
75th percentile	$63,410	$30.49
90th percentile	$74,520	$35.83

The location quotient — a measure of how concentrated this occupation is in Iowa relative to the national average — is 1.85, indicating that pourers and casters, metal are more concentrated here than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, pourers and casters, metal earn a median of $48,955 per year ($23.54/hour), exceeding the Iowa median.

Employment Outlook

National employment for 374,992 pourers and casters, metal in the U.S.. In Iowa alone, about 110 people work in this role. That trails the typical state, which employs around 120 pourers and casters, metal.

Top States for Pourers and Casters, Metal Employment

The table below shows the states where the most pourers and casters, metal work.

State	Number Employed
Indiana	1,060
Pennsylvania	680
Ohio	590
Texas	480
Michigan	400
Illinois	340
Wisconsin	330
California	250
Alabama	200
Tennessee	130
Massachusetts	120
Kentucky	120
Arkansas	110
Iowa	110
Missouri	110
West Virginia	70
Oregon	60
Virginia	60
Georgia	50
North Carolina	50

Highest-Paying States for Pourers and Casters, Metal

The highest-paying states for pourers and casters, metal.

State	Annual Median Salary
Florida	$62,080
Massachusetts	$58,910
North Carolina	$58,640
Michigan	$57,690
Georgia	$56,190
Illinois	$56,090
Iowa	$54,320
Indiana	$54,110
Oregon	$50,230
New York	$49,720

Skills

Key pourers and casters, metal skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Core knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for pourers and casters, metal, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Day-to-day, pourers and casters, metal typically:

• 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.
• Position equipment such as ladles, grinding wheels, pouring nozzles, or crucibles, or signal other workers to position equipment.
• Skim slag or remove excess metal from ingots or equipment, using hand tools, strainers, rakes, or burners, collecting scrap for recycling.
• Transport metal ingots to storage areas, using forklifts.
• Assemble and embed cores in casting frames, using hand tools and equipment.
• Turn valves to circulate water through cores, or spray water on filled molds to cool and solidify metal.
• Pull levers to lift ladle stoppers and to allow molten steel to flow into ingot molds to specified heights.

Work Activities

• Performing General Physical Activities
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Training and Teaching Others

Tools & Technology

Common tools and software used in this occupation include: Hot technologies: Microsoft Excel

Related Careers

Careers similar to pourers and casters, metal include:

• Maintenance Workers, Machinery
• Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
• Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Also Known As

Aluminum Pourer, Billet Header, Brass Pourer, Buggy Ladle Tender, Bull Ladle Tender, Busher, Caster, Casting Machine Operator, Casting Operator, DC Caster (Direct Chill Caster), DCO (Die Cast Operator), Die Cast Machine Operator, Die Casting Machine Operator, Header, Ingot Caster.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-4052.00