What does a ship fitter do?
Ship fitters are civilian or enlisted people who work on materials like high yield strength steel and high-tensile steel. These people fabricate, assemble, and build structural parts of ships. They are the ones who coordinate a fixed tank working on ships and submarines, as well as the sonar dome work. They serve as part of a team composing shipbuilders. It is their duty to lead and assist in welding copper, PVC, flange piping, and steel. They should also refurbish the older rigs with advanced technologies.
Ship fitter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real ship fitter resumes:
- 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.
- Used all PPE equipment correctly and safely.
- Operate TIG to repair cores with incomplete vacuum oven bonding.
- Supervise and install commercial HVAC systems, plumbing and sewer systems.
- Gain qualification to be able to perform tack welds on naval vessels.
- Job duties are to assemble and tack-weld parts as per blue print specifications.
- Assist rig manager in planning for work load, schedule and timeline expectations.
- Perform high-quality MIG welding and weld testing for leading manufacturer of platform trailers.
- Build, tack, and TIG weld aluminum parts per Linkbelt blueprint qualifications.
- Build skids, ladders walkways & boat bumpers.Prep and fit material on various jobs.
Ship fitter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Ship Fitters are proficient in Hand Tools, Tack-Weld, and Tack Welding. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Manual dexterity, and Technical skills.
We break down the percentage of Ship Fitters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hand Tools, 14%
Planned out and installed high purity piping systems using blue prints, hand tools, and construction site machinery.
- Tack-Weld, 10%
Clamp, hold, tack-weld, heat-bend, grind or bolt component parts to obtain required configurations and positions for welding.
- Tack Welding, 7%
Skilled in grinding, tack welding, and beveling plate.
- Tape Measure, 6%
Measured garments using tape measure and altered it according to customer requirement.
- Cranes, 6%
Operate plasma arch, all grinding and cutting application, proficient in overhead crane and pneumatic tools and related steel working applications
- Safety Rules, 5%
Complied with all safety rules with profound observation of surroundings, which prevented any accidents.
Common skills that a ship fitter uses to do their job include "hand tools," "tack-weld," and "tack welding." You can find details on the most important ship fitter responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a ship fitter to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers perform precision work, often with straight edges." Ship fitters often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "create miscellaneous detail drawings from structural drawings for structural steel construction. "
Manual dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling ship fitter duties is manual dexterity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers must have a steady hand to hold a torch in place." According to a ship fitter resume, here's how ship fitters can utilize manual dexterity in their job responsibilities: "move parts into position, manually, cranes. "
Physical strength. For certain ship fitter responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "physical strength." The day-to-day duties of a ship fitter rely on this skill, as "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers must be able to lift heavy pieces of metal and move welding or cutting equipment." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what ship fitters do: "worked with non-ferrous and ferrous metals including stainless steel, aluminum, and high strength. "
The three companies that hire the most ship fitters are:
- Club Champion13 ship fitters jobs
- Veritas Steel8 ship fitters jobs
- Huntington Ingalls Industries7 ship fitters jobs
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Compare different ship fitters
Ship fitter vs. Welder-assembler
A welder helper's role is to perform support tasks for lead welders at a construction site or similar setting. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around setting up and preparing rigs, operating devices and tools, maintaining the workspace's cleanliness, and following orders from lead welders. There may also be instances where a welder helper must pre-heat materials, lift heavy objects, participate in loading and unloading packages, and ensure that the welders are equipped with the necessary tools. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with managers and adhere to the site's safety regulations and policies.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a ship fitter are more likely to require skills like "hand tools," "tack-weld," "math," and "tack welding." On the other hand, a job as a welder-assembler requires skills like "tack," "gtaw," "plasma arc," and "spot welding." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, welder-assemblers reach similar levels of education than ship fitters. Welder-assemblers are 1.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Ship fitter vs. Welder assistant
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, ship fitter responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "tack-weld," "math," "cranes," and "basic math." Meanwhile, a welder assistant has duties that require skills in areas such as "welders," "grinders," "air arc," and "safety procedures." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, welder assistants achieve similar levels of education than ship fitters. They're 1.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Ship fitter vs. Welder operator
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, ship fitters are more likely to have skills like "tack-weld," "math," "tack welding," and "tape measure." But a welder operator is more likely to have skills like "quality checks," "safety procedures," "general maintenance," and "plasma arc."
Welder operators earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,042. Comparatively, ship fitters have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $54,661.When it comes to education, welder operators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to ship fitters. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Ship fitter vs. Welder helper
Types of ship fitter
Updated January 8, 2025
