How To Become A Pipeline Superintendent: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pipeline superintendent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Alyson Theriot

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pipeline superintendent. For example, did you know that they make an average of $41.24 an hour? That's $85,781 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 36,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a pipeline superintendent?

Dr. Alyson Theriot

Associate Professor, Nicholls State University

My general advice to any graduate beginning their career would be to hold on to their joy. Whatever profession he/she has chosen was done so because they likely held some type of passion for it. These are unprecedented times and no one knows how long it will last, so we all have to find joy in whatever it is we have chosen to do despite this pandemic.

ScorePipeline SuperintendentUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,781

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 2.82%

Black or African American 3.67%

Hispanic or Latino 17.28%

Unknown 4.44%

White 71.23%

Gender

female 1.15%

male 98.85%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pipeline superintendent

Explore pipeline superintendent education requirements

Most common pipeline superintendent degrees

High School Diploma

45.8 %

Bachelor's

37.5 %

Associate

8.3 %

Start to develop specific pipeline superintendent skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	44.14%
Construction Projects	35.89%
DOT	14.50%
Pipeline Project	5.47%

Complete relevant pipeline superintendent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pipeline superintendents 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 pipeline superintendent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pipeline superintendent resumes.

Research pipeline superintendent duties and responsibilities

Manage third party contractors including safety oversight, environmental design specification compliance, and similar construction specifications and requirements.
Maintain welding inspector status and CDL.
Perform audits for the military and conduct PowerPoint presentations of work perform by sub-contractors to demonstrate code violations in construction.
Diagnose problems within HVAC systems; gain strong hands-on experience with mechanical equipment operation and troubleshooting.

Prepare your pipeline superintendent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pipeline superintendent 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 pipeline superintendent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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