How To Become A Boilermaker Pipe Fitter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a boilermaker pipe fitter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a boilermaker pipe fitter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.87 an hour? That's $70,450 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 9,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBoilermaker Pipe FitterUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,450

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.02%

Asian 1.85%

Black or African American 8.85%

Hispanic or Latino 23.13%

Unknown 4.20%

White 60.96%

Gender

female 5.64%

male 94.36%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a boilermaker pipe fitter

Explore boilermaker pipe fitter education requirements

Most common boilermaker pipe fitter degrees

High School Diploma

58.5 %

Associate

24.6 %

Bachelor's

6.2 %

Start to develop specific boilermaker pipe fitter skills

Skills	Percentages
Exchangers	22.51%
Demo	9.76%
Safety Valves	8.06%
Plumb Bobs	5.72%
Water Columns	4.84%

Complete relevant boilermaker pipe fitter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New boilermaker pipe fitters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a boilermaker pipe fitter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real boilermaker pipe fitter resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed boilermaker pipe fitter usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed boilermaker pipe fitter in most of states. 26 states require boilermaker pipe fitters to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Certified Master Gas Fitter
Maryland	Specific course required	State exam required	GAS FITTER
Arkansas	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Gas Fitter
Colorado	-	State exam required	Master Plumber
Connecticut	-	State exam required	Plumbing & Piping Unlimited Contractor

Research boilermaker pipe fitter duties and responsibilities

remove & replace piping using hand tools, saws, torches
Assemble numerous valves for refinery pipelines.
Assemble numerous valves for refinery pipelines.

Prepare your boilermaker pipe fitter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your boilermaker pipe fitter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a boilermaker pipe fitter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable boilermaker pipe fitter resume templates

Build a professional boilermaker pipe fitter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your boilermaker pipe fitter resume.