Structural iron and steel workers: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
When building tall structures such as skyscrapers, structural iron and steel workers erect steel frames and assemble the cranes and derricks that move materials and equipment around the construction site. Workers connect precut steel columns, beams, and girders, using tools like shears, torches, welding equipment, and hand tools. A few ironworkers install precast walls or work with wood or composite materials.
- Education Required
- A high school diploma or equivalent is generally required. Courses in math, as well as training in vocational subjects such as blueprint reading and welding, can be particularly useful.
- Training Required
- Most ironworkers learn their trade through a 3- or 4-year apprenticeship. For each year of the program, apprentices must have at least 144 hours of related technical instruction and 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training. Nearly all apprenticeship programs teach both reinforcing and structural ironworking. On the job, apprentices learn to use the tools and equipment of the trade; handle, measure, cut, and lay rebar; and construct metal frameworks. In technical training, they are taught mathematics, blueprint reading and sketching, general construction techniques, safety practices, and first aid.
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: 13% (Faster than average)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Licenses/Certifications
- Certifications in welding, rigging, and crane signaling may increase a workers usefulness on the jobsite. Several organizations provide certifications for different aspects of ironworkers jobs. For example, the American Welding Society offers welding certification, and several organizations offer rigging certifications, including the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, and the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
- Median pay: How much do Ironworkers make?
- $50,830 Annual Salary
- $24.44 per hour
Careers for Ironworkers
- Bridge ironworkers
- Construction ironworkers
- Erectors
- Iron guardrail installers
- Metal tank erectors
- Ornamental ironworkers
- Post tensioning ironworkers
- Pre-engineered metal building ironworkers
- Precast concrete ironworkers
- Rebar workers
- Reinforcing iron and rebar workers
- Reinforcing steel workers
- Rodbusters
- Steel fabricators
- Steel fitters
- Steel rod busters
- Steel tiers
- Structural steel erectors
- Wind turbine erectors