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.
A Day in the Life of a Boilermaker
- Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.
- 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.
- Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels.
- Lay out plate, sheet steel, or other heavy metal and locate and mark bending and cutting lines, using protractors, compasses, and drawing instruments or templates.
- 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.
- Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Boilermaker?
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 Jobs
- Boiler Technician
- Assembler
- Boiler Fitter
- Boiler Installer
- Boiler Maker
Job Demand 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. The BLS estimates 1,900 yearly job openings in this field.
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.
Do Boilermakers Make A Lot Of Money?
The typical yearly salary for Boilermakers is somewhere between $37,610 and $89,940.
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
Becoming a Boilermaker
Learn what Boilermaker education requirements there are.
What work experience do I need to become a Boilermaker?
Boilermakers Sector
The table below shows the approximate number of Boilermakers employed by various industries.
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.
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