Potters, Manufacturing
Pay and outlook shown for
New workers start near $28,060; experienced workers reach $57,480. About 250 people do this job in San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.
Job outlook
Alamo region (San Antonio and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034; U.S. figures from the BLS.
- Employment change
- +8.7%
- Openings a year
- 29
- Employed in 2024
- 218
Typical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent · Training: Long-term on-the-job training
Alamo Colleges programs that lead here
No program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.
Browse all programsSkills this career uses
The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.
- Operations Monitoring3.1
- Operation and Control3.1
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Monitoring3.0
- Active Listening2.9
- Speaking2.9
- Social Perceptiveness2.8
- Quality Control Analysis2.5
What the work is
Operate production machines such as pug mill, jigger machine, or potter's wheel to process clay in manufacture of ceramic, pottery and stoneware products.
- Press thumbs into centers of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes.
- Adjust wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner.
- Position balls of clay in centers of potters' wheels, and start motors or pump treadles with feet to revolve wheels.
- Raise and shape clay into wares, such as vases and pitchers, on revolving wheels, using hands, fingers, and thumbs.
- Prepare work for sale or exhibition, and maintain relationships with retail, pottery, art, and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work.
- Smooth surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges.
Education people in this job have
Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.
- High school or less46%
- Some college31%
- Bachelor's degree23%
Job zone 3, medium preparation: Training, an associate degree, or a few years of related experience.
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