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Potters, Manufacturing

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Operate production machines such as pug mill, jigger machine, or potter's wheel to process clay in manufacture of ceramic, pottery and stoneware products.

What you’d do

  • Operate gas or electric kilns to fire pottery pieces.
  • Mix and apply glazes to pottery pieces, using tools, such as spray guns.
  • Raise and shape clay into wares, such as vases and pitchers, on revolving wheels, using hands, fingers, and thumbs.
  • 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.
  • Move pieces from wheels so that they can dry.
  • Prepare work for sale or exhibition, and maintain relationships with retail, pottery, art, and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work.
  • Attach handles to pottery pieces.

Skills that matter

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Quality Control Analysis

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Glazer
  • Jiggerman
  • Potter
  • Production Potter
  • Clay Mixer
  • Jigger Artisan

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