What is a Steel Worker?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a steel worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.24 an hour? That's $37,949 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 11,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Steel Worker Do
There are certain skills that many steel workers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed balance, hand-eye coordination and physical strength.
How To Become a Steel Worker
If you're interested in becoming a steel worker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 11.8% of steel workers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.0% of steel workers have master's degrees. Even though some steel workers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Steel Worker Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a steel worker can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as welder, progress to a title such as driver and then eventually end up with the title superintendent.
Average Salary for a Steel Worker
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Steel Worker
There are several types of steel worker, including:
Iron Worker
Role:
Ironworkers establish, fabricate, construct, and install iron and steel frames for bridges, buildings, and other structures. The basic tasks of an ironworker revolve around understanding blueprint welding, cutting metals into specific customizations or shapes, assembling and stacking materials, coordinating with other members of the construction team, operating various machinery and devices, and attaching essential tools.
As an ironworker, you are to repair and replace existing elements of the buildings. Also, it is important for you as an ironworker to follow every company's federal and state safety regulations by wearing proper protective gear while working. In addition, it is your duty to keep every piece of equipment and tools in good working condition and to stack, load, and unload steel and even iron pieces.
Most of the time, ironworkers did not need a college education. The most common degree for this role is a high school diploma or GED. As an ironworker, you will earn an average salary of $34,802 a year.
- Average Salary: $41,422
- Degree: High School Diploma
Steel Erector
Role:
What do parking garages, skyscrapers, and control towers have in common? Many of them are made with steel. Steel beams provide the framework for a tall building and are the foundation for any future construction. Steel erectors, or ironworkers, are the people who create the steel framework for buildings.
Steelworkers spend most of their day working with steel beams, girders, and columns. They help cut steel to its proper size, install beams where they are supposed to go based on the blueprint or design, and weld steel parts together. Sometimes they help with building renovation or operate equipment like cranes.
A steel erector needs to do its job very carefully. If they make a mistake, the whole building could collapse. A mistake could also be deadly since steel erectors often work with dangerous power tools many feet above the ground. To prepare for this demanding yet rewarding career, many steel erectors start out as apprentices so they can learn important skills through practical experience. Once they are done with their apprenticeship, steel erectors can earn an average of $32,850 a year.
- Average Salary: $36,280
- Degree: High School Diploma
Billboard Installer
Role:
Billboard installers fix large advertising posters on mounted display units in public places. They remove old materials attached to the billboards, clean and prepare the surface for fresh signs. They install the posters in sections, brushing paste over the printed pages and smoothing the posters in place.
You will have to work in high places using appropriate safety gear. It will be your job to maintain the billboard sites by removing paint, glue, or other impurities from the surface. You might have to install materials in various types of display units, such as under glass screens or in metal frames. You might have to work with digital displays as well.
Physical fitness is the primary requirement here, as opposed to formal education. You will need to be able to work in heights using ropes and harnesses. Stamina and a sense of balance will be important. A driver's license is usually necessary, as you will travel to various locations installing signs and posters.
- Average Salary: $37,096
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Steel Worker Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active steel worker jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where steel workers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Steel Worker Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 3,461 | $44,837 |
| 2 | Texas | 2,049 | $32,893 |
| 3 | Florida | 2,016 | $28,662 |
| 4 | Georgia | 1,210 | $34,262 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 1,161 | $32,087 |
| 6 | Virginia | 930 | $34,997 |
| 7 | Washington | 916 | $39,369 |
| 8 | Missouri | 787 | $29,817 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 693 | $32,678 |
| 10 | Colorado | 632 | $30,335 |
| 11 | Oregon | 499 | $36,908 |
| 12 | Alabama | 486 | $34,393 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 481 | $38,088 |
| 14 | Louisiana | 442 | $37,794 |
| 15 | Utah | 380 | $42,112 |
| 16 | Connecticut | 380 | $36,217 |
| 17 | Nebraska | 302 | $30,633 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 299 | $36,108 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 234 | $35,671 |
| 20 | New Mexico | 232 | $31,427 |
| 21 | West Virginia | 221 | $41,921 |
| 22 | Idaho | 179 | $37,913 |
| 23 | South Dakota | 134 | $42,048 |
| 24 | Delaware | 104 | $36,104 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 62 | $33,751 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 17 | $43,440 |
| 27 | Iowa | 9 | $44,238 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | 7 | $39,462 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 6 | $35,971 |
| 30 | Ohio | 5 | $40,773 |
| 31 | Michigan | 4 | $37,331 |
| 32 | Illinois | 3 | $44,857 |
| 33 | Indiana | 3 | $41,616 |
| 34 | Maryland | 3 | $35,857 |
| 35 | Kansas | 2 | $41,727 |
| 36 | Mississippi | 2 | $39,301 |
| 37 | Arkansas | 2 | $30,335 |
| 38 | New York | 1 | $51,513 |
| 39 | Arizona | 1 | $37,004 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 1 | $34,377 |
| 41 | Massachusetts | 1 | $35,847 |
| 42 | North Dakota | 0 | $45,261 |
| 43 | Alaska | 0 | $49,247 |
| 44 | Montana | 0 | $42,853 |
| 45 | Hawaii | 0 | $47,997 |
| 46 | New Jersey | 0 | $40,114 |
| 47 | Maine | 0 | $36,903 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 0 | $36,045 |
| 49 | Nevada | 0 | $36,157 |
| 50 | Vermont | 0 | $35,502 |
Top Skills For a Steel Worker
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.0% of steel workers listed safety equipment on their resume, but soft skills such as balance and hand-eye coordination are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Steel Worker Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Steel Worker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Steel Worker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Steel Worker diversity
Steel Worker Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among steel workers, 6.4% of them are women, while 93.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among steel workers is White, which makes up 67.9% of all steel workers.
- The most common foreign language among steel workers is Spanish at 94.1%.
Online Courses For Steel Worker That You May Like
1. Ferrous Technology I
Steel, ever-evolving material, has been the most preeminent of all materials since it can provide wide range of properties that can meet ever-changing requirements. In this course, we explore both fundamental and technical issues related to steels, including iron and steelmaking, microstructure and phase transformation, and their properties and applications...
2. Structural Steel Design: Learn the Principles of Design
Understand the foundations and design a laterally supported steel element with ease (bending, axial and shear)...
3. The Comprehensive ETABS Professional Course (RCC and Steel)
21 Hours of Course Content with Practical Case studies...
Best States For a Steel Worker
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a steel worker. The best states for people in this position are New York, Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota. Steel workers make the most in New York with an average salary of $51,513. Whereas in Alaska and Hawaii, they would average $49,247 and $47,997, respectively. While steel workers would only make an average of $45,261 in North Dakota, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. West Virginia
$41,921
Avg. Salary
2. South Dakota
$42,048
Avg. Salary
3. Utah
$42,112
Avg. Salary
How Do Steel Workers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Steel Worker Employers
Most Common Employers For Steel Worker
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worthington Industries | $45,816 | $22.03 | 5 |
| 2 | CMC Motocross | $43,775 | $21.05 | 6 |
| 3 | Republic Steel | $41,748 | $20.07 | 10 |
| 4 | Castle Metals | $41,091 | $19.76 | 5 |
| 5 | United States Steel | $40,646 | $19.54 | 32 |
| 6 | Crossland Construction | $40,612 | $19.52 | 5 |
| 7 | EVRAZ North America | $39,965 | $19.21 | 9 |
| 8 | ArcelorMittal | $39,878 | $19.17 | 13 |
| 9 | ME ELECMETAL | $39,730 | $19.10 | 7 |
| 10 | Alro Steel | $39,679 | $19.08 | 6 |