How To Become A Forge Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a forge operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a forge operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.23 an hour? That's $33,751 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreForge OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,751

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 2.60%

Black or African American 14.16%

Hispanic or Latino 17.50%

Unknown 4.46%

White 60.44%

Gender

female 6.61%

male 93.39%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a forge operator

Explore forge operator education requirements

Most common forge operator degrees

High School Diploma

67.1 %

Diploma

16.5 %

Associate

9.4 %

Start to develop specific forge operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	22.50%
Safety Rules	15.53%
Calipers	12.25%
Cranes	7.62%
Gauges	7.23%

Complete relevant forge operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New forge operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a forge operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real forge operator resumes.

Research forge operator duties and responsibilities

Perform quality checks using micrometers, calipers and other gauges to assure finish forged stabilizer bars are within specification.
Use cnc operate saws shears lathes and mills to size billet charges.
Operate 5,000 ton press daily, operation are manual or automatic using a CNC numerical screen.
Demonstrate ability to troubleshoot creatively, solve problems effectively, and make inform decisions while successfully guiding others through constant change.

Prepare your forge operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your forge operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a forge operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable forge operator resume templates

Build a professional forge operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your forge operator resume.