Coremaker

Explore This Path

Perfect for hands-on creators who enjoy shaping essential components for metal casting.
Play a crucial role in the foundry process, ensuring quality and precision in metal parts.
Unique opportunity to blend craftsmanship with industrial innovation in foundries.

💰 Earn $37K-$45K

📚 High School Diploma or GED

⏱️ 6–12 MONTH TRAINING

📈 -24.6% JOB GROWTH

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What You’ll Do

Make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries.

Sift and pack sand into mold sections, core boxes, and pattern contours, using hand or pneumatic ramming tools.
Clean and smooth molds, cores, and core boxes, and repair surface imperfections.
Form and assemble slab cores around patterns, and position wire in mold sections to reinforce molds, using hand tools and glue.
Move and position workpieces, such as mold sections, patterns, and bottom boards, using cranes, or signal others to move workpieces.
Sprinkle or spray parting agents onto patterns and mold sections to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.

Scoop

Minimum Education

High School Diploma or GED

Career Prospects

Risky (Decreasing by 5% or more)

Training Time

6 months to 1 year

Job Openings

700 Annually

Median Earnings

$38,750 in California

$44,300 Nationally

$25K

$50K

$75K

$100K

$125K

$150K

$175K

$200K

$225K

$250K

Best For You If...

YOU Like 💕

Using data or completing tasks
Working with my hands

You are skilled in 💫

Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Reading Comprehension
Social Perceptiveness
Speaking

You value 🙏

Having support
Having freedom
Personal relationships

Deep Dive

Coremaker

Explore career pathways, key skills, and what each role has to offer.

Pathways to this Career

Learn about the education and training paths that can lead to this career — and what to expect from each one.

Vocational School

A vocational school typically equips students with specialized skills and practical training in specific trades or occupations, enhancing their employability and providing direct pathways to relevant careers.

🎓 Skills-Focused

⏱️ FINISH IN 6 months - 2 years

Associate's Degree

An associate's degree typically provides graduates with foundational knowledge and skills for entry-level jobs in the graduate's industry, or serves as a stepping stone towards further education.

🎓 College

⏱️ FINISH IN 2-3 years

Bachelor's Degree

A bachelor's degree typically results in increased knowledge about a variety of academic subjects, specialized knowledge in a focused field of study, and is considered the foundational qualification for many careers.

🎓 College

⏱️ FINISH IN 4-5+ years