Find Trade Colleges

Study Area & Zipcode

Boilermaker

Find Schools Near

What You Need to Know About Boilermaker

Career 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.

Boilermaker Responsibilities

  • Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
  • Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
  • Repair or replace defective pressure vessel parts, such as safety valves or regulators, using torches, jacks, caulking hammers, power saws, threading dies, welding equipment, or metalworking machinery.
  • 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.
  • Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
  • Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.

Boilermaker Needed 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.

Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Types of Boilermaker

  • Mechanic
  • Erector
  • Boiler Repairman
  • Boilermaker
  • Boiler Erector

Are There Job Opportunities for Boilermakers?

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. There will be an estimated 1,900 positions for Boilermaker per year.

undefined

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.

Salary for a Boilermaker

The salary for Boilermakers ranges between about $37,610 and $89,940 a year.

undefined

Boilermakers who work in Kentucky, North Dakota, or Pennsylvania, make the highest salaries.

How much do Boilermakers make 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

What Tools do Boilermakers Use?

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 do I Become a Boilermaker?

Education needed to be a Boilermaker:

undefined

How many years of work experience do I need?

undefined

Where Boilermakers Work

undefined

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

undefined

Similar Careers

Those interested in being a Boilermaker may also be interested in:

Are you already one of the many Boilermaker in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:

References:

Image Credit: Phasmatisnox via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Trade Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited trade schools across the U.S.