Melting, pouring, forging, cutting, bending and welding metal: the hot, loud, satisfying work behind every bridge, truck and tractor.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Welding Engineer: Figures out the best way to permanently join metals for ships, pipelines, rockets and cars, and writes the procedures welders follow. Typical pay $100k.
Foundry Metallurgist: Controls the chemistry and heat treatment of molten metal so castings like engine blocks and pump bodies come out strong and flaw-free. Typical pay $105k.
Metal Fabrication Shop Owner: Runs a business that builds custom metal products such as railings, trailers, truck racks, equipment frames and art. Typical pay $85k.
Orbital Welder: Runs automatic machines that weld perfectly clean stainless pipe for chip fabs, drug factories and breweries. Typical pay $70k.
Robotic Welding Programmer: Programs and tunes robots that do welding on car frames, tractors and steel products. Typical pay $65k.
Aerospace / Precision TIG Welder: Uses the most precise welding method (TIG) on thin, exotic metals for aircraft, rockets, race cars and medical equipment. Typical pay $65k.
Sheet Metal Fabricator: Cuts, bends and assembles thin metal into ductwork, enclosures, kitchen equipment and vehicle panels. Typical pay $58k.
Welding Engineering Technician: Helps welding engineers test welds, set up equipment and qualify welders and procedures. Typical pay $62k.
Steel Mill Melter: Runs the electric arc furnace or ladle that melts scrap metal into thousands of tons of new steel. Typical pay $62k.
Rolling Mill Operator: Runs the giant rollers that squeeze glowing slabs of steel or aluminum into sheets, bars and beams. Typical pay $56k.
Thermal Spray Technician: Sprays molten metal or ceramic onto jet engine parts, pumps and turbines to protect them from heat and wear. Typical pay $56k.
Foundry Patternmaker: Builds the exact full-size models, in wood, plastic or metal, used to make the sand molds that metal castings are poured into. Typical pay $58k.
Explosion Welding Technician: Uses carefully placed explosives to slam two metals together so hard they fuse, making special plates for chemical plants. Typical pay $60k.
Starter: fastest way in
Welder: Joins metal pieces together using intense heat for everything from trailers to skyscraper beams to farm equipment. Typical pay $51k.
Structural Metal Fabricator & Fitter: Reads blueprints and lines up steel beams, plates and pipes so they can be welded into bridges, towers and heavy machines. Typical pay $50k.
Heat Treating Technician: Heats and cools metal parts in furnaces under precise recipes so they become hard, tough or springy. Typical pay $46k.
Forging Press Operator: Runs giant presses and hammers that squeeze red-hot metal into strong parts like wrenches, crankshafts and jet engine discs. Typical pay $46k.
Industrial Blacksmith / Hammersmith: Shapes huge pieces of glowing steel on open-die presses, the factory-scale version of an old-time blacksmith. Typical pay $50k.
Foundry Molder & Coremaker: Builds the sand molds and cores that molten metal is poured into to make castings. Typical pay $43k.
Metal Pourer & Caster: Pours molten metal from furnaces and ladles into molds to make castings. Typical pay $46k.
CNC Laser / Plasma Cutting Operator: Runs computer-controlled lasers and plasma torches that cut shapes out of sheets of metal. Typical pay $44k.
Electroplater: Coats metal parts with thin layers of chrome, nickel, zinc or color using electricity and chemical baths. Typical pay $42k.
Metal Spinner: Shapes flat metal discs into bowls, cones and domes by pressing them against a spinning form on a lathe. Typical pay $45k.
Metal Extrusion & Drawing Operator: Pushes hot aluminum through shaped dies like toothpaste, or pulls wire through smaller and smaller holes, to make window frames, tubing and cable. Typical pay $46k.
Press Brake Operator: Bends flat sheet metal into precise shapes for electrical boxes, truck bodies and machine parts using a CNC press brake. Typical pay $46k.
Metal Stamping Press Operator: Runs presses that slam steel coils into car doors, appliance parts and brackets, sometimes dozens of parts per minute. Typical pay $45k.
Powder Coater: Sprays electrically charged colored powder onto metal parts and bakes it into a tough finish for bikes, railings, wheels and machines. Typical pay $46k.
Metal Polisher & Finisher: Grinds, sands and buffs metal parts by hand to a mirror shine or a smooth finish, from surgical tools to restaurant equipment. Typical pay $42k.
Hot-Dip Galvanizer: Dips steel beams, guardrails and towers into a bath of molten zinc so they won't rust for 50+ years. Typical pay $44k.
Die Casting Machine Operator: Runs machines that inject molten aluminum or zinc into steel molds to make engine parts, housings and door handles. Typical pay $44k.
CNC Tube Bender Operator: Bends metal tubing into exact shapes for roll cages, exhaust systems, furniture, aircraft lines and hand railings. Typical pay $46k.
Coppersmith: Hand-shapes and welds copper into whiskey stills, brewing kettles, roof domes and decorative pieces. Typical pay $52k.
Shot Peening Technician: Blasts metal parts with millions of tiny steel or glass beads to toughen them so jet engines and car springs don't crack. Typical pay $50k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.