Best degree programs for Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 300 schools train Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $48,750 median wage, 14,000 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 300 schools train heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, graduating 5,031 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Machine Tool Technology/Machinist. The job pays a median of $48,750 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About 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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0501 | 3,489 | 69.4% | 228 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
| 2 | CIP 48.0503 | 1,542 | 30.6% | 87 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $47,090 | 340 | 1.87× | 13 | 468 |
| California | $50,150 | 770 | 0.47× | 28 | 424 |
| South Carolina | $46,750 | 290 | 1.38× | 13 | 298 |
| Texas | $41,690 | 1,450 | 1.14× | 11 | 273 |
| Tennessee | $54,930 | 670 | 2.26× | 23 | 270 |
| Wisconsin | $49,100 | 470 | 1.78× | 13 | 235 |
| Indianalimited | $46,860 | 990 | 3.45× | 2 | 216 |
| Kansas | $47,500 | 50 | 0.39× | 6 | 194 |
| Georgia | $44,050 | 250 | 0.56× | 15 | 189 |
| Colorado | $58,300 | 100 | 0.40× | 7 | 184 |
| Utah | $47,860 | 90 | 0.59× | 8 | 178 |
| Oklahoma | $51,680 | 120 | 0.81× | 5 | 172 |
| Mississippi | $46,630 | 80 | 0.72× | 11 | 158 |
| Illinois | $45,340 | 850 | 1.55× | 11 | 140 |
| Washington | $61,990 | 140 | 0.45× | 9 | 138 |
| Minnesota | $41,100 | 90 | 0.33× | 7 | 127 |
| Florida | $47,370 | 150 | 0.17× | 9 | 120 |
| Missouri | $47,980 | 140 | 0.52× | 8 | 120 |
| Michigan | $50,560 | 1,190 | 3.00× | 12 | 99 |
| Alabamamoderate | $46,920 | 170 | 0.88× | 3 | 95 |
| Oregon | $60,280 | 240 | 1.34× | 5 | 91 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,800 | 1,520 | 2.78× | 13 | 90 |
| Nebraskamoderate | $48,120 | 50 | 0.51× | 3 | 89 |
| Arkansas | $37,590 | 200 | 1.68× | 5 | 74 |
| North Carolina | $46,660 | 320 | 0.72× | 10 | 64 |
| Louisianamoderate | $35,180 | — | — | 4 | 63 |
| Iowamoderate | $49,760 | 120 | 0.88× | 4 | 42 |
| Ohio | $52,880 | 1,040 | 2.09× | 6 | 32 |
| West Virginialimited | $56,880 | 70 | 1.06× | 2 | 30 |
| Mainemoderate | $45,590 | 40 | 0.66× | 3 | 27 |
| New Yorkmoderate | $52,940 | 280 | 0.32× | 4 | 27 |
| Arizonamoderate | $50,660 | 160 | 0.53× | 3 | 26 |
| New Jerseylimited | $49,640 | 440 | 1.14× | 1 | 5 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $52,250 | 90 | 1.49× | 1 | 4 |
| Massachusettslimited | $49,280 | 250 | 0.76× | 1 | 3 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills
- Active Listening3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Writing2.9
- Mathematics2.9
- Reading Comprehension2.9
- Active Learning2.8
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing3.9
- Mathematics3.3
- Education and Training2.9
- Administration and Management2.8
- Chemistry2.7
- Mechanical2.6
Abilities
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.8
- Multilimb Coordination3.6
- Reaction Time3.6
- Near Vision3.5
- Manual Dexterity3.5
- Problem Sensitivity3.5
Core activities
- Handling and Moving Objects4.3
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.2
- Performing General Physical Activities4.2
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.1
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment3.9
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates3.7
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Heat Treating Equipment Setter
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 48.0501Machine Tool Technology/Machinist
- 48.0503Machine Shop Technology/Assistant
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Heat Treating Equipment Setter?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Machine Tool Technology/Machinist, which awarded 3,489 degrees in 2024-25, 69.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Heat Treating Equipment Setter?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Precision Metal Working. Together they graduate about 5,031 people a year.
How much do heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic earn?+
The median is $48,750 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $35,180 at the 10th percentile to $66,350 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic growing?+
BLS projects a -12.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 1,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
300 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Heat Treater, Furnace Operator, Heat Treat Operator, Heat Treat Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-4191.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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