Ship erector vs bridge carpenter

The differences between ship erectors and bridge carpenters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a ship erector and a bridge carpenter. Additionally, a bridge carpenter has an average salary of $45,918, which is higher than the $43,889 average annual salary of a ship erector.

The top three skills for a ship erector include scaffolding, OSHA and safety rules. The most important skills for a bridge carpenter are asphalt, pile, and ladders.

Ship erector vs bridge carpenter overview

	Ship Erector	Bridge Carpenter
Yearly salary	$43,889	$45,918
Hourly rate	$21.10	$22.08
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	6,795	5,277
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Ship erector vs bridge carpenter salary

Ship erectors and bridge carpenters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ship Erector	Bridge Carpenter
Average salary	$43,889	$45,918
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $72,000	Between $33,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between ship erector and bridge carpenter education

There are a few differences between a ship erector and a bridge carpenter in terms of educational background:

	Ship Erector	Bridge Carpenter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Ship erector vs bridge carpenter demographics

Here are the differences between ship erectors' and bridge carpenters' demographics:

	Ship Erector	Bridge Carpenter
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 94.4% Female, 5.6%	Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 1.6% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 1.7% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between ship erector and bridge carpenter duties and responsibilities

Ship erector example responsibilities.

Perform duties as a structural welder using SMAW, and FCAW.
Work with crew members to force steel parts into final position with turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, etc.
Install various aluminum structures and foundations.
Identify and request any and all PPE necessary to performtasks.calculate accurate material estimates.
Operate lull and crane lifts.
Install various aluminum structures and foundations.

Bridge carpenter example responsibilities.

Manage complete renovations and new construction of banks for commercial construction company.
Pile driving, form work, tie rebar.
Learned to operate small cranes.
Perform start to finish bridge repair or demolition to rebuild throughout Michigan.
Install travelers and forms for road deck, stays and stressing, operate tower cranes when necessary.
Use of backhoe to remove debris and chip out concrete material and dig out behind back wall for repairers.

Ship erector vs bridge carpenter skills

Common ship erector skills

Scaffolding, 34%
OSHA, 19%
Safety Rules, 13%
Construction Sites, 5%
Blueprint Specifications, 3%
Fall Protection, 3%

Common bridge carpenter skills

Asphalt, 18%
Pile, 14%
Ladders, 12%
Hand Tools, 10%
Traffic Control, 7%
Wooden Forms, 6%

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse construction and extraction jobs