Ship erector vs iron worker

The differences between ship erectors and iron workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a ship erector has an average salary of $43,889, which is higher than the $41,422 average annual salary of an iron worker.

The top three skills for a ship erector include scaffolding, OSHA and safety rules. The most important skills for an iron worker are hoisting, torches, and ironworker.

Ship erector vs iron worker overview

	Ship Erector	Iron Worker
Yearly salary	$43,889	$41,422
Hourly rate	$21.10	$19.91
Growth rate	2%	4%
Number of jobs	6,795	28,258
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 55%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	-

Ship erector vs iron worker salary

Ship erectors and iron workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ship Erector	Iron Worker
Average salary	$43,889	$41,422
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $72,000	Between $32,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	EMCOR Group
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between ship erector and iron worker education

There are a few differences between a ship erector and an iron worker in terms of educational background:

	Ship Erector	Iron Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 55%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Ship erector vs iron worker demographics

Here are the differences between ship erectors' and iron workers' demographics:

	Ship Erector	Iron Worker
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 94.4% Female, 5.6%	Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4%
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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 1.6% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0%
LGBT Percentage	2%	5%

Differences between ship erector and iron worker 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.

Iron worker example responsibilities.

Attain diverse professional experience from working in various craft disciplines in maintenance, turnaround and new construction projects.
Perform field welds on ferrous and non-ferrous metals using SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and GTAW.
Interpret blueprints and schematics, and MIG, FCAW, SMAW weld parts as defined in specification sheets.
Force structural- steel members in to final position using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, sleeve bars, and hand tools.
Cut coupon samples to be test on CNC end mill lathe.
Attach pulleys and blocks to fix overhead structures.

Ship erector vs iron worker skills

Common ship erector skills

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

Common iron worker skills

Hoisting, 10%
Torches, 8%
Ironworker, 7%
Bolt-Up, 6%
MIG, 4%
Steel Beams, 4%

Updated January 8, 2025

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