How To Become A Structural Steel Erector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a structural steel erector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a structural steel erector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.09 an hour? That's $35,552 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreStructural Steel ErectorUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,552

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.02%

Asian 1.64%

Black or African American 8.74%

Hispanic or Latino 16.02%

Unknown 4.92%

White 66.66%

Gender

female 3.28%

male 96.72%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a structural steel erector

Explore structural steel erector education requirements

Most common structural steel erector degrees

High School Diploma

40.9 %

Bachelor's

31.8 %

Associate

22.7 %

Start to develop specific structural steel erector skills

Skills	Percentages
Cranes	42.30%
Equipment Operators	14.43%
Hoisting	14.25%
Torches	13.07%
Laser Equipment	9.34%

Complete relevant structural steel erector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New structural steel erectors 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 structural steel erector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real structural steel erector resumes.

Research structural steel erector duties and responsibilities

Erect metal buildings by setting iron, installing insulations/walls, rolling-out roofing, roof insulation and sheet.
Drive drift pins through bolt holes to align steel members with corresponding holes in previously place members.
Cut bend or weld steel pieces using metal sheers, torches, or welding equipment.
Direct operation of cranes to move structural steel, reinforcing bars, and other materials onto and around the construction site.

Prepare your structural steel erector resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable structural steel erector resume templates

Build a professional structural steel erector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your structural steel erector resume.