Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers

Shape molten glass according to patterns.

Most important skills

Monitoring
Quality Control Analysis
Active Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Operations Monitoring
Operation and Control
Reading Comprehension

Key knowledge

Customer and Personal Service
Design
Production and Processing
Chemistry
Engineering and Technology
Mechanical
Administration and Management
Administrative

What the work involves

Inspect, weigh, and measure products to verify conformance to specifications, using instruments such as micrometers, calipers, magnifiers, or rulers.
Record manufacturing information, such as quantities, sizes, or types of goods produced.
Heat glass to pliable stage, using gas flames or ovens and rotating glass to heat it uniformly.
Blow tubing into specified shapes to prevent glass from collapsing, using compressed air or own breath, or blow and rotate gathers in molds or on boards to obtain final shapes.
Shape, bend, or join sections of glass, using paddles, pressing and flattening hand tools, or cork.
Develop sketches of glass products into blueprint specifications, applying knowledge of glass technology and glass blowing.
Determine types and quantities of glass required to fabricate products.
Place electrodes in tube ends and heat them with glass burners to fuse them into place.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (27.3% of expert ratings)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (34.8%)
On-the-job training: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (30.4%)
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 Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 51-9195 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

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.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Very low	Lower on contact with others than 98% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Occasional contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Low	Lower on dealing with the public than 62% of occupations compared	26% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all”
Teamwork	Very low	Lower on teamwork than 98% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very low	Lower on time pressure than 80% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situations	Very low	Lower on conflict situations than 92% of occupations compared	57% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very low	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 98% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	High	Higher on consequence of error than 74% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very low
Conflict situations: very low
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
Consequence of error: high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions