Boilermakers

ManufacturingO*NET 47-2011.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $76,419
Projected change: −2.3%
Typical education: High school diploma or less
Employment: 11.21K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What boilermakers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.
Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
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.
Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
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.
Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents.
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.
Attach rigging and signal crane or hoist operators to lift heavy frame and plate sections or other parts into place.
Straighten or reshape bent pressure vessel plates or structure parts, using hammers, jacks, or torches.
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.
Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment.
Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $50,502
25th percentile: $64,750
50th percentile: $76,419
75th percentile: $95,430
90th percentile: $110,365

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $76,419 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

−2.3%projected to decline

202511,211 jobs

2035 projected10,951 jobs

260 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less: 52%
Certificate: 32.1%
Some college: 15.9%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Boilers
Valves (Piping)
Welding
Pressure Vessel
Power Tool Operation
Hand Tools
Working at Heights
Plumb Bob
Blueprinting
Fabrication
HVAC
Hammers
Wrenches
Turnbuckle
Caulking
Hoppers
Personal Protective Equipment
Preventive Maintenance
Geometry
Safety Standards

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Operations 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.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Equipment Selection: Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Boilermakers606 postings
02Boiler Technicians493 postings
03Boiler Mechanics76 postings
04Boilermaker Journeymen70 postings
05Boilermaker Welders58 postings
06Boiler Service Technicians53 postings
07Boilermaker Foremen45 postings
08Boilermaker Helpers41 postings
09Boiler Inspectors22 postings
10Boiler Operators21 postings
11Welders17 postings
12Structural Superintendents11 postings
13Furnace Operators9 postings
14Boiler Plant Operators6 postings
15Scaffold Builders6 postings
16Combo Drivers5 postings
17Maintenance Managers5 postings
18Maintenance Workers5 postings
19Mechanics5 postings
20Consulting Technical Managers4 postings

Top employers

01Brown & Root Industrial Services116 postings
02Brown & Root86 postings
03Austin Industrial77 postings
04Zachry Brands64 postings
05Cargill54 postings
06Zachry Group41 postings
07GPAC39 postings
08Fluor32 postings
09Turner Industries29 postings
10Aerotek27 postings
11Brady Services22 postings
12Bechtel18 postings
13Freeport-McMoRan18 postings
14CAM Industrial Solutions17 postings
15EMCOR Group17 postings
16John Wood Group17 postings
17Blake Thermal Sales & Service12 postings
18Thompson Construction11 postings
19Paramount Placement10 postings
20Randstad10 postings

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