Metal Forging
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Metal Forging occupation series (code 3802): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Metal Forging is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 22 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Metal Work Family family. At an average salary of $85,880 it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -4.3%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 11 yrs
- Rank in family
- #7 of 7
FedScope read on Metal Forging (thin series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
Code 38, the Metal Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Metal Forging alongside 6 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Metal Forging postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Metal Work Family family. The Metal Work Family family totals 7,198 employees, and Metal Forging accounts for 0.3% of them.
Salary Context
How Metal Forging pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$85,880
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-26.8%
Where Metal Forging ranks on federal pay
Metal Forging earns more on average than 42% of federal occupation series (226 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Metal Forging sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Metal Forging.
Related Occupations in Metal Work Family
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheet Metal Mechanic | 5,196 | $91,094 | 11.5 yrs |
| Shipfitting | 1,201 | $86,635 | 10.3 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Metal Work | 332 | $83,924 | 13.6 yrs |
| Metal Forming Machine Operating | 253 | $72,043 | 10.9 yrs |
| Mobile Equipment Metal Mechanic | 109 | $95,960 | 12.2 yrs |
| Boilermaking | 85 | n/a | 10.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Metal Forging outside the Metal Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (22 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($85,880 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Metal Forging pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Metal Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Metal Forging postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.