Boilermakers
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They Do: Boilermakers assemble, install, maintain, and repair boilers, closed vats, and other large vessels or containers that hold liquids and gases.
Work Environment: Boilermakers perform physically demanding work. They may travel to worksites and be away from home for extended periods.
How to Become One: Boilermakers typically learn their trade through an apprenticeship program.
Salary: The median annual wage for boilermakers is $64,290.
Job Outlook: Employment of boilermakers is projected to decline 5 percent over the next ten years.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of boilermakers with similar occupations.
What Boilermakers Do[About this section] [To Top]
Boilermakers assemble, install, maintain, and repair boilers, closed vats, and other large vessels or containers that hold liquids and gases.
Duties of Boilermakers
Boilermakers typically do the following:
- Read blueprints to determine locations, positions, and dimensions of boiler parts
- Install small premade boilers in buildings and manufacturing facilities
- Lay out prefabricated parts of larger boilers before assembling them
- Assemble boiler tanks, often using robotic or automatic welders
- Test and inspect boiler systems for leaks or defects
- Clean vats with scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents
- Replace or repair broken valves, pipes, or joints, using hand and power tools, gas torches, and welding equipment
Boilers, tanks, and vats are used in many buildings, factories, and ships. Boilers heat water or other fluids under extreme pressure to generate electric power and to provide heat. Large tanks and vats are used to process and store chemicals, oil, beer, and hundreds of other products.
Boilers are made out of steel, iron, copper, or stainless steel. Manufacturers are increasingly automating the production of boilers to improve the quality of these vessels. However, boilermakers still use many tools to assemble and maintain boilers. For example, they often use hand and power tools and flame-cutting torches to align, cut, and shape pieces for a boiler. Boilermakers also use plumb bobs, levels, wedges, and turnbuckles to align pieces accurately.
During a boiler installation, boilermakers first line up boilerplates and parts, and then use metalworking machinery and other tools to remove irregular edges so that the parts fit together properly. If the plate sections are very large, boilermakers signal crane operators to lift the parts into place. Boilermakers then join the parts by bolting, welding, and riveting them together.
Boilermakers may help erect and repair air pollution abatement equipment, blast furnaces, water treatment plants, storage and process tanks, and smokestacks. Boilermakers also install refractory brick and other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes or pressure vessels. Some install and maintain the huge pipes used in dams to send water to and from hydroelectric power generation turbines.
Boilers last a long time—sometimes 50 years or more—and boilermakers must maintain them regularly by repairing and replacing parts. They inspect fittings, feed pumps, safety and check valves, water and pressure gauges, and boiler controls.
Work Environment for Boilermakers[About this section] [To Top]
Boilermakers hold about 13,900 jobs. The largest employers of boilermakers are as follows:
| Utility system construction | 20% |
| Nonresidential building construction | 17% |
| Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors | 12% |
| Fabricated metal product manufacturing | 6% |
| Other building equipment contractors | 2% |
Boilermakers perform physically demanding work in cramped spaces inside boilers, vats, or tanks that are often dark, damp, noisy, and poorly ventilated. They frequently work outdoors in all types of weather, including extreme heat and cold.
Because dams, boilers, storage tanks, and pressure vessels are large, boilermakers frequently work at great heights. For example, they may be hundreds of feet above the ground when working on a dam.
Boilermaker Injuries and Illnesses
Boilermakers have lower rates of injuries and illnesses than many other construction occupations. To reduce the chance of injuries, boilermakers wear hardhats, protective clothing, earplugs, safety glasses, and other safety equipment. When working in enclosed spaces, boilermakers often wear a respirator.
Boilermaker Work Schedules
Nearly all boilermakers work full time and may experience extended periods of overtime when equipment is shut down for maintenance. Overtime work also may be necessary to meet construction or production deadlines, especially during the spring and fall seasons, when many power plants receive routine maintenance. In contrast, because most field construction and repair work is contract work, there may be periods of unemployment when a contract is complete. There may also be periods of unemployment during the winter and summer when major maintenance is complete.
Boilermakers may travel to worksites and be away from home for extended periods.
How to Become a Boilermaker[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for Boilermakers near you!
Most boilermakers learn their trade through an apprenticeship program.
Education for Boilermakers
A high school diploma or equivalent is generally required.
Boilermaker Training
Boilermakers typically learn their trade through an apprenticeship program. During training, workers learn how to use boilermaker tools and equipment on the job. They also learn about metals and installation techniques, mathematics, blueprint reading and sketching, general construction techniques, safety practices, and first aid.
Apprenticeship programs typically last 4 years. When boilermakers finish the apprenticeship program, they are considered to be journey workers, performing tasks under the guidance of experienced workers. A few groups, including unions and contractor associations, sponsor apprenticeship programs. Apprentices must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Candidates with certified or documented welding experience may have priority over applicants without experience.
Some boilermakers enter apprenticeships after working as pipefitters, millwrights, sheet metal workers, or welders. The core training for these occupations is similar to the training for boilermakers.
Important Qualities for Boilermakers
Mechanical skills. Boilermakers use and maintain a large variety of equipment, such as hoists and welding machines.
Physical stamina. Boilermakers must have high endurance because they spend many hours on their feet while lifting heavy boiler components.
Physical strength. Boilermakers need to be strong enough to move heavy vat components into place.
Unafraid of confined spaces. Boilermakers often work inside boilers and vats.
Unafraid of heights. Some boilermakers work at great heights. While installing water storage tanks, for example, workers may need to weld tanks several stories above the ground.
Boilermaker Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median annual wage for boilermakers is $64,290. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $46,040, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,240.
The median annual wages for boilermakers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Nonresidential building construction | $77,240 |
| Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors | $72,160 |
| Other building equipment contractors | $68,940 |
| Utility system construction | $64,320 |
| Fabricated metal product manufacturing | $53,610 |
Apprentices receive less pay than fully trained boilermakers. They receive pay increases as they learn more skills.
Nearly all boilermakers work full time and may experience extended periods of overtime when equipment is shut down for maintenance. Overtime work also may be necessary to meet construction or production deadlines, especially during the spring and fall seasons, when many power plants receive routine maintenance. In contrast, because most field construction and repair work is contract work, there may be periods of unemployment when a contract is complete. There may also be periods of unemployment during the winter and summer when major maintenance is complete.
Boilermakers may travel to worksites and be away from home for extended periods.
Union Membership for Boilermakers
Compared with workers in all occupations, boilermakers have a higher percentage of workers who belong to a union. Although there is no single union that covers all boilermakers, the largest organizer of these workers is the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers.
Job Outlook for Boilermakers[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of boilermakers is projected to decline 5 percent over the next ten years.
Despite limited employment growth, about 1,100 openings for boilermakers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment of Boilermakers
Boilers typically last for decades, but there will be an ongoing need for boilermakers to replace and maintain parts, such as boiler tubes, heating elements, and ductwork. Boilermakers will also continue to be needed to install new equipment, including boilers, pressure vessels, air pollution abatement equipment, and storage and process tanks.
However, the shift away from coal-fired electricity generation will reduce the need for boilermakers. Renewable photovoltaic and wind generation systems do not have boilers, and natural gas plants require less ongoing boiler maintenance than coal plants.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Boilermakers | 13,900 | 13,200 | -5 | -600 |
More Boilermaker Information[About this section] [To Top]
For information about apprenticeships or job opportunities as a boilermaker, contact local boiler construction contractors; a local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers; a local joint union–management apprenticeship committee; or the nearest office of your state employment service or apprenticeship agency. Apprenticeship information is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship program online, or by phone at 877-872-5627. Visit Apprenticeship.gov to search for apprenticeship opportunities.
For more information about apprenticeship and training, visit
Boilermakers National Apprenticeship Program
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
For more information about certification, visit
National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER)
For information about welding certification, visit
For information about opportunities for former military service members, visit:
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.