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Boilermaker
Skilled TradesYou build, install, and repair boilers, pressure vessels, and tanks that contain superheated steam and chemicals that would ruin your day if they escaped. You'll weld in confined spaces, work in power plants and refineries, and do shutdowns that require 12-hour shifts for weeks straight. The money during outage season is insane. So is the fatigue.
Salary Range
Low
$40k
Median
$64k
High
$96k
10-Year Growth
average
US Workers
16K
Education
Apprenticeship (4 years) through the Boilermakers union
Environment
both
Tools & Technical Skills
- ▸Boiler and pressure vessel fabrication and repair
- ▸Welding (SMAW, GTAW, GMAW) to ASME code
- ▸Blueprint and isometric drawing interpretation
- ▸Rigging and heavy equipment signaling
- ▸Non-destructive testing awareness (UT, RT, MT)
- ▸Tube rolling and expansion
People & Mindset Skills
- ▸Physical endurance in extreme heat
- ▸Safety discipline
- ▸Teamwork
- ▸Adaptability to travel
- ▸Reliability
What you'll actually do
- 01Weld and fabricate pressure vessels that hold steam hot enough to melt your problems and your skin
- 02Work inside boilers and tanks in confined spaces that test your comfort with tight, dark places
- 03Read blueprints for vessels that need to be welded to code — literally, ASME code
- 04Travel to power plants and refineries for shutdown work that pays triple but steals your weekends
- 05Perform hydrostatic pressure tests to verify welds won't fail under operating conditions
- 06Wear full PPE in environments where the temperature is either freezing or hellish — no middle ground
Related Shifts
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