Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Mold, shape, form, cast, or carve products such as food products, figurines, tile, pipes, and candles consisting of clay, glass, plaster, concrete, stone, or combinations of materials.
33,190 people do this job in the US. $46,170 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construct or form molds for use in casting clay or plaster objects, using plaster, fiberglass, rubber, casting machines, patterns, or flasks. | 19% | 1.7 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Align and assemble parts to produce completed products, using gauges and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 29 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Separate models or patterns from molds and examine products for accuracy.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean, finish, and lubricate molds and mold parts.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Pour, pack, spread, or press plaster, concrete, or other materials into or around models or molds. | 6% | 33 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Assemble, insert, and adjust wires, tubes, cores, fittings, rods, or patterns into molds, using hand tools and depth gauges.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Load or stack filled molds in ovens, dryers, or curing boxes, or on storage racks or carts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Trim or remove excess material, using scrapers, knives, or band saws.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Smooth surfaces of molds, using scraping tools or sandpaper.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Brush or spray mold surfaces with parting agents or insert paper into molds to ensure smoothness and prevent sticking or seepage.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Repair mold defects, such as cracks or broken edges, using patterns, mold boxes, or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate and adjust controls of heating equipment to melt material or to cure, dry, or bake filled molds.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Foundry Mold and Coremakers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand11% now, 11% by 2028
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic6% now, 6% by 2028
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders14% now, 14% by 2028
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders7% now, 7% by 2028
- Cutters and Trimmers, Hand5% now, 5% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).