Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
Build or repair equipment such as furnaces, kilns, cupolas, boilers, converters, ladles, soaking pits, and ovens, using refractory materials.
- Median pay
- $61,290
- Doing it now
- 1,100
- By 2035
- Down 13.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Reline or repair ladles and pouring spouts with refractory clay, using trowels.
- Chip slag from linings of ladles or remove linings when beyond repair, using hammers and chisels.
- Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, mortar powder, and water to form refractory clay or mortar, using shovels or mixing machines.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/TechniciansSee 2 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
Analytical and curious
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 $61,290 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.