Structural Iron and Steel Workers
SOC: 47-2221.00

Description:

Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.

National Salary Information:

Hourly Statistics:

Annual Statistics:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data.

Employment Projections:

Employment (2014):
61,400 employed

Projected (2024):
64,200 employed

Projected growth (2014-2024)


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 2014-2024 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Alternate Titles:

  • Assembler
  • Awnings Mechanic
  • Billboard Erector
  • Billboard Installer
  • Billboard Mechanic
  • Bolter
  • Bridge Ironworker
  • Bridge Maintainer
  • Bridgeman
  • Building Construction Ironworker
  • Combination Worker
  • Construction Ironworker
  • Fitter
  • Fitter / Welder
  • Guard Rail Installer
  • Guzzler Builder
  • Housesmith
  • Iron Erector
  • Iron Guardrail Installer
  • Iron Setter
  • Iron Worker
  • Iron Worker Apprentice
  • Iron Worker Foreman
  • Ironworker
  • Joist Setter
  • Layout Worker
  • Metal Buildings Assembler
  • Metal Tank Builder
  • Metal Tank Erector
  • Metal Trim Erector
  • Metalsmith
  • Oil Field Rig Builder
  • Ornamental Iron Erector
  • Ornamental Ironworker
  • Ornamental Metal Erector
  • Ornamental Metal Worker
  • Playground Equipment Erector
  • Pre-Engineered Metal Building Ironworker
  • Precast Concrete Ironworker
  • Rigger
  • Scaffold Erector
  • Sheet Ironworker
  • Sign Board Erector
  • Sign Builder
  • Sign Erector
  • Sign Hanger
  • Sign Installer
  • Steel Construction Worker
  • Steel Fabricator
  • Steel Fitter
  • Steel Hanger
  • Steel Layout Worker
  • Steel Rigger
  • Steel Worker
  • Structural Iron Erector
  • Structural Ironworker
  • Structural Layout Worker
  • Structural Metal Worker
  • Structural Rigger
  • Structural Steel Erector
  • Structural Steel Fitter
  • Structural Steel Ironworker
  • Structural Steel Worker
  • Structural Worker
  • Tank Setter
  • Tower Hand
  • Wind Turbine Erector

    • Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

    Experience:

    Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

    Education:

    These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

    Job Training:

    Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

    Required Skills:

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Equipment Selection
  • Installation
  • Operation Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Time Management
  • Management of Financial Resources
  • Management of Material Resources
  • Management of Personnel Resources

    • Knowledge Used:

  • Administration and Management
  • Clerical
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Production and Processing
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Design
  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Psychology
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Foreign Language
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Telecommunications
  • Communications and Media
  • Transportation

    • Tasks:

  • Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required.
  • Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using plumb bobs, laser equipment, transits, or levels.
  • Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors.
  • Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place.
  • Ride on girders or other structural steel members to position them or use rope to guide them into position.
  • Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors.
  • Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place.
  • Cut, bend, or weld steel pieces, using metal shears, torches, or welding equipment.
  • Fasten structural steel members to hoist cables, using chains, cables, or rope.
  • Assemble hoisting equipment or rigging, such as cables, pulleys, or hooks, to move heavy equipment or materials.
  • Force structural steel members into final positions, using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, or hand tools.
  • Erect metal or precast concrete components for structures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, towers, storage tanks, fences, or highway guard rails.
  • Unload and position prefabricated steel units for hoisting as needed.
  • Drive drift pins through rivet holes to align rivet holes in structural steel members with corresponding holes in previously placed members.
  • Dismantle structures or equipment.
  • Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled.
  • Catch hot rivets in buckets and insert rivets in holes, using tongs.
  • Place blocks under reinforcing bars used to reinforce floors.
  • Hold rivets while riveters use air hammers to form heads on rivets.
  • Hoist steel beams, girders, or columns into place, using cranes or signaling hoisting equipment operators to lift and position structural steel members.

    • Tools & Technology:

  • Adjustable widemouth pliers
  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Air compressors
  • Blow torches
  • Bolt cutters
  • Bull pins
  • C clamps
  • Center punches
  • Chalk lines
  • Cold chisels
  • Combination squares
  • Crowbars
  • Cutoff saws
  • Decoilers
  • Drift pins
  • Ear plugs
  • Electric drills
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Flat head screwdrivers
  • Forging dies
  • Grout mixers
  • Hacksaws
  • Hammers
  • Hard hats
  • Hydraulic pumps
  • Jacks
  • Ladders
  • Laser levels
  • Life preservers
  • Notebook computers
  • Open end wrenches
  • Personal computers
  • Phillips head screwdrivers
  • Pipe wrenches
  • Plasma cutters
  • Plumb bobs
  • Pneumatic hammers
  • Portable welding machines
  • Power grinders
  • Power lifts
  • Protective coveralls
  • Protective harnesses
  • Respirators
  • Rivet busters
  • Rivet guns
  • Rivet tongs
  • Robertson screwdrivers
  • Rod ovens
  • Rubber mallets
  • Safety belts
  • Safety boots
  • Safety glasses
  • Safety gloves
  • Safety lanyards
  • Scaffolding
  • Scribers
  • Side cutting pliers
  • Single-cut mill saw files
  • Sledgehammers
  • Slings
  • Socket wrench sets
  • Spreader beams
  • Spud wrenches
  • Squares
  • Staple guns
  • Stressing jacks
  • Strikers
  • Swing stages
  • Tape measures
  • Tin snips
  • Tongs
  • Torpedo levels
  • Tuggers
  • Two way radios
  • Utility knives
  • Vise grip pliers
  • Welding gloves
  • Welding helmets
  • Welding hoods
  • Welding tips
  • Winches
  • Wire brushes
  • Workshop cranes
  • Computer aided design CAD software
  • Cost estimating software
  • Inventory tracking software
  • Project scheduling software
  • Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal

    • construction and extraction

    industry stats

    SOC: 47-0000

    Total Employed: 5,477,820

    Average Annual Salary: $47,580