What Do Boilermaker Do?
Boilermaker Job Description Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
Daily Life Of a Boilermaker
- Shape seams, joints, or irregular edges of pressure vessel sections or structural parts to attain specified fit of parts, using cutting torches, hammers, files, or metalworking machines.
- Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments.
- Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill presses.
- Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels.
- Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools.
- Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
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Boilermaker Skills
Below is a list of the skills most Boilermakers say are important on the job.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Other Boilermaker Job Titles
- Boilerhouse Mechanic
- Fitter Up
- Boiler Maker
- Boiler Service Technician
- Boiler Welder
Boilermaker Job Outlook
In the United States, there were 17,200 jobs for Boilermaker in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 8.7% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,500 new jobs for Boilermaker by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 1,900 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Boilermaker are Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Mississippi, Idaho, or Delaware. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Boilermakers Salary
Boilermakers make between $37,610 and $89,940 a year.

Boilermakers who work in Kentucky, North Dakota, or Pennsylvania, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Boilermakers in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $56,540 |
Arizona | $60,740 |
Arkansas | $47,500 |
California | $70,120 |
Colorado | $70,520 |
Connecticut | $68,250 |
Florida | $59,240 |
Georgia | $62,070 |
Illinois | $69,030 |
Indiana | $71,600 |
Kentucky | $76,340 |
Louisiana | $60,720 |
Maryland | $61,910 |
Massachusetts | $64,610 |
Michigan | $71,930 |
Minnesota | $64,360 |
Missouri | $51,420 |
Montana | $65,250 |
Nebraska | $76,620 |
Nevada | $38,930 |
New Jersey | $68,640 |
New Mexico | $60,310 |
New York | $69,820 |
North Carolina | $62,370 |
North Dakota | $81,500 |
Ohio | $71,840 |
Oklahoma | $54,610 |
Oregon | $61,350 |
Pennsylvania | $78,380 |
South Carolina | $60,590 |
Tennessee | $66,380 |
Texas | $57,480 |
Utah | $60,290 |
Virginia | $57,310 |
Washington | $65,900 |
West Virginia | $68,270 |
Wisconsin | $58,020 |
Wyoming | $69,440 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Boilermakers
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Boilermakers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Windows
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Computer aided design CAD software
- SAP software
How to Become a Boilermaker
What education is needed to be a Boilermaker?

What work experience do I need to become a Boilermaker?

Where Boilermakers Are Employed

Boilermakers work in the following industries:

Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Those thinking about becoming a Boilermaker might also be interested in the following careers:
Career changers with experience as a Boilermaker sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Phasmatisnox via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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