Boilermaker is a skilled professional who constructs, fabricates, assembles, install, maintain, and repair tanks, boilers, pressure vessels, vats, and other containers that hold gases and liquids. Boilermaker primarily uses welding/cutting equipment along with employing tools to separate, fuse, and shape metal sections, plates, and components by following blueprints. Large structures like boilers generate power and provide heat. They function as storage containers for industrial chemicals, oil, or other liquids. These professionals work in the building, and maintenance/repair of structures such as elevators, bridges, blast furnaces, dams, rocket boosters, and locomotives.
Post Highlights:
- Educational Qualifications
- Certification/License
- Work Experience
- Duties/Responsibilities
- Abilities/Skills
- Work Environment
- Physical Requirements
- Top Industries
- Job Types
- Salary Information
Educational Qualifications
Boilermaker requires the following educational requirements-
- Possess a High School Diploma or Equivalent (minimum)
- Certificate in Welding, Metals Fabrication, Pipe Welding (recommended)
- Associate Degree in Welding, Metals Fabrication, Pipe Welding (advanced)
Certification/License
- AWS Certified Welder (recommended)
Work Experience
- Possess a related boiler or pipe welding work experience (recommended)
- Apprenticeship program (advanced)
- Welding and metal fabrication experience
- May be required to pass a craft test
Duties/Responsibilities
A boilermaker has the following duties-
- Assist in testing assembled vessels
- Clean pressure vessel equipment
- Complete the maintenance documentation
- Conduct inspections and prepare preventative maintenance reports
- Fabricate, install, test, and maintain vats, tanks, boilers, and pressure vessels
- Inspect equipment for proper functioning
- Install auxiliary mechanisms (fittings, tubes, valves, boiler instrumentation)
- Install large structures or boilers into facilities
- Organize and assemble boiling parts
- Read blueprints for dimensions, location, and position
- Shape and fabricate parts
- Weld of small diameter pipe/tube
Abilities/Skills
- Ability to detect/fix problems
- Able to read blueprints
- Able to work in a team environment
- Able to work in harsh weather (heat, cold, snow, rain)
- Analyze design plans, and understand building codes
- Good at reading comprehension
- Good mechanical aptitude
- Motivated and self-directed
- Possess basic computer skills
Work Environment
- Work both in a shop environment and the field on active construction sites
- Typically work irregular hours that may include weekends or nights
- Work in a dark, damp, poorly ventilated, and noisy environment
- Understand/follow safe working practices
Physical Requirements
- Able to lift at least 50-100 lbs.
- Coordinate the movements of hands, eyes, and fingers
- Possess physical stamina
- Require extensive travel
- Require walking, climbing, bending standing, kneeling
Top Industries
Manufacturing-
- Boilers
- Brewing/Distilling
- Power Generation Components
- Water Heaters
Industrial-
- Food/Beverage Processing Equipment
- Power Plant Shut Downs/Expansion
- Recycling Facilities
- Steel Mills
Infrastructure-
- Building/Structural Components
- Railway Components
- Waste Management
Job Types
- Boilermaker
- Boilermaker Helper
- Boilermaker Journeyman
- Boilermaker Welder
- Boilermaker Manager
- Boilermaker/Pipefitter
Salary Information
Boilermakers earn differently from place to place depending on skills and experience. On average, they are paid $30.96 hourly or $63,871 yearly. Their hourly pay rates range from $20 to $44. Along with this, employers also pay them some sort of bonuses and profit-sharing. An entry-level boilermaker earns less than the experienced one i.e. simply more experience and more salary. The boilermakers earn the highest salary in the state of New York, the United States.
Related: Other Welding Professions
