How to become a Heat Treater
Heat treaters control furnaces and cooling equipment to change the physical properties of metals and metal objects, making them hard, tough, resilient or suitable for machining.
Personal requirements of a Heat Treater
- enjoy practical and manual activities
- able to work as part of a team
- enjoy working with mechanical equipment
- aptitude for working with computers.
Duties & Tasks of a Heat Treater
Heat treaters: • load items to be treated into the furnace and bring the metal to a specified temperature • use computer-controlled furnaces • use new technologies, such as advanced vacuum furnaces • check all gauges and controls during treatment to make sure they are working correctly • harden metal by heating it to the required temperatures (this varies with different metals) and dipping it in oil, gas, water, brine or other solutions • surface-harden metal components to improve their resistance to wear and abrasion • use special instruments to test the hardness and mechanical properties of treated metals.
Working conditions for a Heat Treater
Heat treaters often work in hot environments.
Avg. weekly wage:
$1,265
Future growth:
Decline
Employment by state:
ACT 0.4%
NSW 26.2%
NT 0.7%
QLD 21.5%
SA 9.2%
TAS 2.8%
VIC 22.6%
WA 16.5%
Hours worked:
44
Unemployment:
Lower unemployment
Gender split:
Male 96%
Female 4%
Education level:
Highest qualification is secondary school: 18.7%
Highest qualification is a Certificate 3 or 4: 37.1%
Highest qualification is a Diploma or Advanced Diploma: 6.7%
Highest qualification is a Bachelor degree: 4.4%
Highest qualification is a Postgraduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate: 0.8%
Age brackets:
15-19 - 0.1%
20-24 - 6.1%
25-34 - 26.8%
35-44 - 22.6%
45-54 - 19.5%
55-59 - 8.2%
60-64 - 7.1%
65 and Over - 9.5%
*The data above is sourced from the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook website.
Personal requirements of a Heat Treater
- enjoy practical and manual activities
- able to work as part of a team
- enjoy working with mechanical equipment
- aptitude for working with computers.
Duties & Tasks of a Heat Treater
Heat treaters: • load items to be treated into the furnace and bring the metal to a specified temperature • use computer-controlled furnaces • use new technologies, such as advanced vacuum furnaces • check all gauges and controls during treatment to make sure they are working correctly • harden metal by heating it to the required temperatures (this varies with different metals) and dipping it in oil, gas, water, brine or other solutions • surface-harden metal components to improve their resistance to wear and abrasion • use special instruments to test the hardness and mechanical properties of treated metals.
Working conditions for a Heat Treater
Heat treaters often work in hot environments.
Avg. weekly wage:
$1,265
Future growth:
Decline
Employment by state:
ACT 0.4%
NSW 26.2%
NT 0.7%
QLD 21.5%
SA 9.2%
TAS 2.8%
VIC 22.6%
WA 16.5%
Hours worked:
44
Unemployment:
Lower unemployment
Gender split:
Male 96%
Female 4%
Education level:
Highest qualification is secondary school: 18.7%
Highest qualification is a Certificate 3 or 4: 37.1%
Highest qualification is a Diploma or Advanced Diploma: 6.7%
Highest qualification is a Bachelor degree: 4.4%
Highest qualification is a Postgraduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate: 0.8%
Age brackets:
15-19 - 0.1%
20-24 - 6.1%
25-34 - 26.8%
35-44 - 22.6%
45-54 - 19.5%
55-59 - 8.2%
60-64 - 7.1%
65 and Over - 9.5%
*The data above is sourced from the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook website.
