Casting Careers in 2025: Shrinking Plants, Rising Pay, Bigger Stakes

If you work in casting, you’ve felt the shift. The shop floor doesn’t look like it did a decade ago and neither does the talent market. I spend my days recruiting materials and process engineers, metallurgists, failure analysts, casting engineers and quality engineers across the U.S. The conversations I’m having and the data I’m tracking point to one clear story: fewer plants, higher stakes and more leverage for skilled people.

 

40% Less Foundries

Back in the late 1990s, the U.S. had more than 2,700 foundries in operation. By the mid-2000s that number had already slipped below 2,100. Today, we’re down in the mid-1,700s. That’s roughly a 40 percent contraction in a generation, but fewer facilities don’t mean casting is less important. It means more complexity concentrated in fewer places, larger plants running hotter, and smaller teams carrying heavier responsibilities. It also means a premium on engineers and operators who can run high-mix operations safely and repeatably.

If that’s you, you have leverage.

Wages are up 70% to 80% in two decades

Casting wages have climbed 70 to 80 percent in a generation, and the spread between entry-level and seasoned leadership is widening.

The shortage of experienced casting talent has dramatically pushed up wages. Here are the latest median pay figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2024) compared with early 2000s benchmarks:

• Materials and metallurgical engineers: Median wage in May 2024 was $108,310. In the early 2000s the median was about $63,179. That’s a 71 percent increase in two decades.
• Industrial and process engineers and quality leads: Median pay in May 2024 was $101,140. Around 2002, comparable engineers earned about $58,110. That’s up 74 percent.
• Quality control inspectors: Median pay reached $47,460 in May 2024, up from the low-$30,000s two decades ago. That’s about a 50 percent increase, with overtime and shift premiums pushing higher.
• Industrial production managers and first line supervisors: Median pay is now $121,440, with the best-paying industries topping $133,000. Twenty years ago, most managers earned well under six figures. Now, six-figure compensation is common.

Do I need a degree to earn good money?

A degree is usually needed for engineering titles, but you can still reach good earnings without one. If you build hands-on experience, learn how to read defects, improve processes, and show measurable results like lowering scrap or boosting reliability, you can climb quickly.

Some jobs in casting almost always require a bachelor’s degree. These are the classic six-figure engineering careers:

• Materials or Metallurgical Engineer – median pay about $108,000
• Process or Industrial Engineer – median pay about $101,000
• Failure Analyst – similar six-figure range

But you don’t need a degree to do well in this industry. Many people build strong careers by starting on the shop floor and moving up. Here’s what that looks like:

• Engineering Technicians – often trained through community college or apprenticeships. Median pay is about $65,000.
• Quality Inspectors – high school entry plus training in reading blueprints, measuring parts, or checking defects. Median pay is about $47,000, with overtime often pushing higher.
• Production Supervisors – usually promoted from operator or technician to lead teams. Median pay is about $66,000, with night shifts or bigger plants paying well above that.

 

Why hiring feels harder

• Retirements: More than 25% of U.S. manufacturing workers are over 55. Legacy experts are walking out, and their tacit knowledge goes with them.
• Competition: Foundries aren’t just competing with each other. Defense, EV, aerospace, batteries, semiconductors, shipyards all want the same behaviours foundries breed: uptime focus, root-cause discipline and reliability.
• Impact: Longer searches, more counter-offers and higher costs when someone leaves.

 

My Advice 

For engineers

• Write your wins in metrics, not duties
• Add a new credential this quarter (AFS gating and risers, SPC, NDT, heat treat).
• Translate casting skills into AM, EV, aerospace or defense.

For hiring teams

• Define the problem to solve, not just the title
• Be open to adjacent backgrounds with about 80 percent overlap and train the rest
• Capture legacy knowledge now with SOPs and mentoring
• Make pay progression real and visible. Candidates can tell when it isn’t

 

FAQs

Is casting still a good career in 2025?

Yes. Fewer plants and higher complexity increase the value of people who can deliver yield, reduce scrap and keep furnaces humming.

 

What skills move the needle most?

Gating and risers, metallurgical fundamentals, defect diagnosis, heat treat control, SPC and DOE, and clear communication.

 

How long should a casting engineer search take?

Thirty to sixty days for mid-level. Longer for leadership or relocation.

 

If you’re working in casting or hiring for these roles, reach out, and we can discuss the market, what pay looks like right now, and where the talent is moving.

Tom Mitchell | Advanced Manufacturing Headhunter |

📞 +1 (857) 557-3481 (Direct) | +44 7441 342019 (EU) | +1 (781) 214-8344 (US)

 

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook:
  • Materials engineers median pay (May 2024)
  • Industrial engineers median pay (May 2024)
  • Quality control inspectors median pay (May 2024)
  • Industrial production managers median pay and industry data (May 2024)
• Jupiter Scientific, Science Salaries by Discipline (2002): median salaries for materials engineers $63,179 and mechanical/industrial engineers $58,110