• A metallurgist is a type of materials engineer who investigates properties of metals and develops new processes for extracting metals from their ores and producing new alloys. They also come up with new uses for metals.
• As Ron Brummett from the Colorado School of Mines puts it, "Mining engineers identify and remove raw materials from the earth, and metallurgists figure out how to use it."
• Most metallurgists work in one of these categories:

Extractive: These metallurgists are concerned with removing metals from ores, and refining and alloying them to obtain useful metal.

Physical: Those in this part of the field study the nature, structure and physical properties of metals and their alloys, and the methods for processing them into final products.

Mechanical: Mechanical metallurgists develop and improve metalworking processes such as casting, forging, rolling and drawing.

• A metallurgist must have a series of core competencies, including a good understanding of chemistry, applied physics and complex math.
• Knowledge of welding and joining metals is important, because it's necessary for creating more efficient alloys.
• Metallurgists often need to have detailed understandings of product design and manufacturing. For example, a metallurgist at an auto manufacturer must thoroughly understand how a car is made to determine which metals should be used.

• A college degree is essentially a prerequisite for becoming a metallurgist. A handful of colleges offer metallurgy programs; MIT and the Colorado School of Mines are among the best.
• Many metallurgists possess advanced degrees.

• Metallurgy is growing relatively slowly as a field, but it is not in danger of extinction.
• The field is very much subject to the economy's fluctuations.

• Metallurgist
• Metallurgy
• Metal
• Materials engineer