Boilermakers
Architecture & Construction · Maintenance/Operations
Pay and outlook shown for
New workers start near $57,610; experienced workers reach $100,170. About 2,340 people do this job in Texas.
Job outlook
U.S. projection, 2024 to 2034.
- Employment change
- -2%
- Openings a year
- 800
- Employed in 2024
- 10,400
Typical entry education: High school diploma or equivalent · Training: Apprenticeship
Alamo Colleges programs that lead here
No program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.
Browse all programsSkills this career uses
The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.
- Operations Monitoring3.4
- Operation and Control3.5
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Quality Control Analysis3.3
- Equipment Maintenance3.0
- Repairing3.1
- Troubleshooting3.0
- Monitoring3.1
What the work is
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.
- Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
- Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment.
- Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
- 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.
- 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.
Education people in this job have
Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.
- High school or less61%
- Certificate38%
- Some college2%
Job zone 3, medium preparation: Training, an associate degree, or a few years of related experience.
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