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Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders vs Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders and Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$55,770
$51,000
Employment · BLS OEWS
20,330
424,040
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
20th pct
20th pct

At a glance

Dimension Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Median pay $55,770 $51,000
Employment 20,330 424,040
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-2.3%) About average (+2.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,000 45,600
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 20th pct Low · 20th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 54th pct · 28% of tasks 11th pct · 13% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Production and Processing, Operations Monitoring, Control Precision, Operation and Control, Problem Sensitivity, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Mechanical, Monitoring, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Reaction Time, Selective Attention, Information Ordering, Multilimb Coordination, Deductive Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, Rate Control, Static Strength, Depth Perception, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Flexibility of Closure, Finger Dexterity, Trunk Strength, Visual Color Discrimination, Auditory Attention.

Specific to Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

  • Public Safety and Security
  • Administration and Management
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Education and Training
  • Response Orientation

Specific to Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

  • Oral Comprehension
  • Mathematics
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Category Flexibility
  • Visualization
  • Far Vision
  • English Language
  • Design

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Data base user interface and query software .

Specific to Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

Specific to Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders or Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders vs Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/metal-refining-furnace-operators-and-tenders-vs-welders-cutters-solderers-and-brazers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders vs Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/metal-refining-furnace-operators-and-tenders-vs-welders-cutters-solderers-and-brazers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-metal-refining-furnace-operators-and-tenders-vs-welders-cutters-solderers-and-brazers,
  title  = {Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders vs Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/metal-refining-furnace-operators-and-tenders-vs-welders-cutters-solderers-and-brazers}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.