Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
51-9195.00
Bright Outlook Updated 2025

The occupation code you requested, 51-9195.07 (Molding and Casting Workers), is no longer in use. In the future, please use 51-9195.00 (Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic) instead.

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Mold, shape, form, cast, or carve products such as food products, figurines, tile, pipes, and candles consisting of clay, glass, plaster, concrete, stone, or combinations of materials.

Sample of reported job titles: Bed Laborer, Caster, Injection Molding Machine Operator, Machine Operator, Mold Mechanic, Molder, Molding Line Operator, Press Operator

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Read work orders or examine parts to determine parts or sections of products to be produced.
  • Trim or remove excess material, using scrapers, knives, or band saws.
  • Brush or spray mold surfaces with parting agents or insert paper into molds to ensure smoothness and prevent sticking or seepage.
  • Engrave or stamp identifying symbols, letters, or numbers on products.
  • Assemble, insert, and adjust wires, tubes, cores, fittings, rods, or patterns into molds, using hand tools and depth gauges.
  • Clean, finish, and lubricate molds and mold parts.
  • Separate models or patterns from molds and examine products for accuracy.
  • Set the proper operating temperature for each casting.
  • Load or stack filled molds in ovens, dryers, or curing boxes, or on storage racks or carts.
  • Align and assemble parts to produce completed products, using gauges and hand tools.
  • Operate and adjust controls of heating equipment to melt material or to cure, dry, or bake filled molds.
  • Select sizes and types of molds according to instructions.
  • Patch broken edges or fractures, using clay or plaster.
  • Withdraw cores or other loose mold members after castings solidify.
  • Repair mold defects, such as cracks or broken edges, using patterns, mold boxes, or hand tools.
  • Measure and cut products to specified dimensions, using measuring and cutting instruments.
  • Smooth surfaces of molds, using scraping tools or sandpaper.
  • Measure ingredients and mix molding, casting material, or sealing compounds to prescribed consistencies, according to formulas.
  • Remove excess materials and level and smooth wet mold mixtures.
  • Verify dimensions of products, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, vernier gauges, or protractors.
  • Bore holes or cut grates, risers, or pouring spouts in molds, using power tools.
  • Tap or tilt molds to ensure uniform distribution of materials.
  • Construct or form molds for use in casting clay or plaster objects, using plaster, fiberglass, rubber, casting machines, patterns, or flasks.
  • Pour, pack, spread, or press plaster, concrete, or other materials into or around models or molds.
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Technology Skills

Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — How often does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats or life-jackets?
  • Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing?
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — How much does this job require making repetitive motions?
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
  • Time Pressure — How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with or contribute to a work group or team in this job?
  • Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working in an environment that is not environmentally controlled (like a warehouse without air conditioning)?
  • Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
  • Spend Time Walking or Running — How much does this job require walking or running?
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — How frequently does your job require face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams?
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment — How important is it to this job that the pace is determined by the speed of equipment or machinery? (This does not refer to keeping busy at all times on this job.)
  • Exposed to Contaminants — How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — How important is it to coordinate or lead others (not as a supervisor or team leader) in accomplishing work activities in this job?
  • Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings — How often does this job require exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings?
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body — How much does this job require bending or twisting your body?
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — How important are continuous, repetitive, physical activities (like key entry) or mental activities (like checking entries in a ledger) to performing this job?
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?
  • Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks physically close to other people?
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?
  • Consequence of Error — How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not easily correctable?
  • Exposed to Hazardous Equipment — How often does this job require exposure to hazardous equipment?
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
  • Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures — How often does this job require working in very hot (above 90 F degrees) or very cold (below 32 F degrees) temperatures?
  • Level of Competition — To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
SVP Range
(4.0 to < 6.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

Example apprenticeship titles for this occupation:

  • Cell Maker
  • Plaster Pattern Caster
  • Rubber-Stamp Maker

Specific title(s) listed above are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Start your career and build your skillset. Visit Apprenticeship.gov to learn about opportunities related to this occupation.

Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Knowledge

  • Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Extent Flexibility — The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Interests

Interest code: RC
Want to discover your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler.
  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$21.97 hourly, $45,690 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
41,700 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Faster than average (5% to 6%)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
5,500
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations