Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders
Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 73% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.6% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $48,040
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.6%
- Openings a year
- 1,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 14,500
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
- Coordinate with others to resolve problems
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Monitor equipment operation
- Maintain tools or equipment
- Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing
What the work looks like
- Monitor equipment operation, gauges, and panel lights to detect deviations from standards.
- Confer with supervisors or other equipment operators to report equipment malfunctions or to resolve production problems.
- Press and adjust controls to activate, set, and regulate equipment according to specifications.
- Record gauge readings, test results, and shift production in log books.
- Stop equipment and clear blockages or jams, using fingers, wire, or hand tools.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Chemical equipment operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 74, +3.6%
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +4.1%
- Signal and track switch repairersHuman edge, steady, Index 78, +1.8%
- Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 90, +5.9%
Also known as: Dry Kiln Operator, Furnace Operator, Kiln Fireman, Kiln Operator, Annealing Operator, Dryer Feeder, Evaporator Operator, Lime Kiln and Recausticizing Operator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.