Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
Lay out, machine, fit, and assemble castings and parts to metal or plastic foundry patterns, core boxes, or match plates.
- Median pay
- $58,000
- Doing it now
- 1,500
- By 2035
- Down 22.8%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Set up and operate machine tools, such as milling machines, lathes, drill presses, and grinders, to machine castings or patterns.
- Read and interpret blueprints or drawings of parts to be cast or patterns to be made, compute dimensions, and plan operational sequences.
- Verify conformance of patterns or template dimensions to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, scales, and micrometers.
- Assemble pattern sections, using hand tools, bolts, screws, rivets, glue, or welding equipment.
- Repair and rework templates and patterns.
- Clean and finish patterns or templates, using emery cloths, files, scrapers, and power grinders.
- Construct platforms, fixtures, and jigs for holding and placing patterns.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Precision Metal WorkingSee 4 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Creative and expressive
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $58,000 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.