How to become a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic

Official title: Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Also called: Batch Heat Treat Operator, Burner, Coating Line Worker, Furnace Operator, Heat Treat Furnace Operator, Heat Treat Operator, Heat Treat Technician, Heat Treater, Scarf and Anneal Operator

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.

Main tasks

• Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
• Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
• 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.
• 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.
• Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other baths.
• Move controls to light gas burners and to adjust gas and water flow and flame temperature.
• Instruct new workers in machine operation.

How to become one

Metal and plastic workers typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation and receive 1 year of on-the-job training. Computer numerically controlled (CNC) tool programmers typically need postsecondary training.

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Heat Treater I.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $48,750 a year The middle half earn $40,660 to $58,400.
• About 14,400 people work in this job now, and about 13,000 are projected by 2035. (-9.5%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
• Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

Metal and plastic workers typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation and receive 1 year of on-the-job training. Computer numerically controlled (CNC) tool programmers typically need postsecondary training.

How much does a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $48,750 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $40,660 to $58,400.

Is a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to fall 9% by 2035, from about 14,400 to about 13,000 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

Usually not. Only 6% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Heat Treater I.

Will AI change the work of a Heat Treating Equipment Setter, Operator or Tender, Metal and Plastic?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.