The metal scale anchors the work — at scrap yards, foundries, mills, or non-ferrous recycling operations, metal weighers capture the weights of metals coming in or out, generating the tickets that drive purchase, billing, and inventory.
The platform scale and the materials-grading area are the working environment — trucks arriving with scrap metal, copper, aluminum, or steel; weights captured by load and by category; tickets generated for settlement; non-ferrous samples sometimes pulled for assay. You're often between the supplier driver and the yard or mill records. Weights captured accurately and grade-category documentation anchor the visible measures.
Where it gets demanding is the materials-grading judgment that affects pricing — scrap metal pays by category and quality, and the weigher often participates in the grading call. Variance across employers is real: at major scrap-metal recyclers and foundries weighers work within structured grading and settlement programs; at smaller yards the role combines weighing with broader yard and grading work.
It fits people who are comfortable in an industrial-yard environment and detail-precise about weight and grading. The trade-off is the dust, noise, and weather exposure typical of metals-yard work. Industry credentials anchor advancement.
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Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →The metal scale anchors the work — at scrap yards, foundries, mills, or non-ferrous recycling operations, metal weighers capture the weights of metals coming in or out, generating the tickets that drive purchase, billing, and inventory.
Median pay for a Metal Weigher is about $46K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $35K to $60K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Monitoring, and Social Perceptiveness.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to decline about 4.8% through 2034, with roughly 49,720 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Quality Control Clerk, Receiving Checker, and Public Weigher.
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