Body welder vs ship fitter

The differences between body welders and ship fitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a body welder and a ship fitter. Additionally, a ship fitter has an average salary of $45,247, which is higher than the $32,146 average annual salary of a body welder.

The top three skills for a body welder include assembly line, toyota and quality inspection. The most important skills for a ship fitter are hand tools, tack-weld, and tack welding.

Body welder vs ship fitter overview

	Body Welder	Ship Fitter
Yearly salary	$32,146	$45,247
Hourly rate	$15.45	$21.75
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	11,289	9,742
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 40%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Body welder vs ship fitter salary

Body welders and ship fitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Body Welder	Ship Fitter
Average salary	$32,146	$45,247
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $31,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	Mount Laurel, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	BWX Technologies
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between body welder and ship fitter education

There are a few differences between a body welder and a ship fitter in terms of educational background:

	Body Welder	Ship Fitter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 40%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Body welder vs ship fitter demographics

Here are the differences between body welders' and ship fitters' demographics:

	Body Welder	Ship Fitter
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1%	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between body welder and ship fitter duties and responsibilities

Body welder example responsibilities.

Perform preventive maintenance, electronic robotic operation, pneumatic system operation, and initial quality control.
Recommend and implement cost reductive measures on the Tacoma front door and hood shell-body weld jig designs.
Use a power tugger to move parts to other departments.
Perform preventive maintenance, electronic robotic operation, pneumatic system operation, and initial quality control.

Ship fitter example responsibilities.

Achieve x-ray certification on aluminum using MIG process.
Lead and assist in executing pipefitting/welding of steel, copper, PVC, and flange piping.
Cut materials with various tools including torches, reciprocating saws, grinders and plasma cutters to ensure exact measurements.
Work includes using torches, grinders and other power tools to cut material to size and prep to weld and paint.
Assemble hoisting and rigging equipment.
Repair and re-fit oil rig platforms.

Body welder vs ship fitter skills

Common body welder skills

Assembly Line, 29%
Toyota, 20%
Quality Inspection, 17%
Quality Checks, 16%
Hand Tools, 10%
Jigs, 7%

Common ship fitter skills

Hand Tools, 14%
Tack-Weld, 10%
Tack Welding, 7%
Tape Measure, 6%
Cranes, 6%
Safety Rules, 5%