Foundry Mold and Coremakers
Make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries.
Most important skills
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Operation and Control
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Physics
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Clean and smooth molds, cores, and core boxes, and repair surface imperfections.
- 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.
- Position patterns inside mold sections, and clamp sections together.
- Position cores into lower sections of molds, and reassemble molds for pouring.
- Sift and pack sand into mold sections, core boxes, and pattern contours, using hand or pneumatic ramming tools.
- Cut spouts, runner holes, and sprue holes into molds.
- Lift upper mold sections from lower sections, and remove molded patterns.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (64.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (56.1%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (28.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Foundry Mold and Coremakers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 56% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 94% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 74% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 64% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 76% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 83% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 51% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 59% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 5.81%
- Occasional contact with others: 7.87%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.96%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.68%
- Constant contact with others: 73.68%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 47.11%
- Fairly important: 27.85%
- Important: 13.78%
- Very important: 11.26%
- Extremely important: 0%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 12.42%
- Fairly important: 9.96%
- Important: 0.63%
- Very important: 24.9%
- Extremely important: 52.09%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.43%
- Very little freedom: 0.73%
- Limited freedom: 22.12%
- Some freedom: 48.92%
- A lot of freedom: 26.81%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0.63%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.09%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.4%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.46%
- Every day: 48.43%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 24.79%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 39.35%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.87%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.99%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 18.3%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.75%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 44.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.11%
- Every day: 10.52%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.78%
- Fairly serious: 27.39%
- Serious: 25.63%
- Very serious: 17.09%
- Extremely serious: 22.12%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 51-4071.00 · SOC 51-4071 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8