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

What is a structural steel ironworker 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 ironworker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.12 an hour? That's $39,760 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 IronworkerUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,760

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.05%

Asian 1.33%

Black or African American 5.43%

Hispanic or Latino 15.46%

Unknown 4.95%

White 70.77%

Gender

female 3.03%

male 96.97%

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 ironworker

Explore structural steel ironworker education requirements

Most common structural steel ironworker degrees

High School Diploma

38.5 %

Bachelor's

30.8 %

Diploma

23.1 %

Start to develop specific structural steel ironworker skills

Skills	Percentages
Ironworker	50.74%
Cranes	41.60%
SMAW	7.66%

Complete relevant structural steel ironworker training and internships

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

Research structural steel ironworker duties and responsibilities

Lead ironworkers and coordinate with project managers, superintendents, and other tradespeople to complete projects on-time and within budget.
Crane operation in busy workplace transporting incoming and outgoing finish work 10 ton to 5 ton cranes remote control.
Bolt up/impact/ operate aerial lifts/ signal cranes/lay grating
Operate bobcats, forklifts and other equipment.

Prepare your structural steel ironworker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your structural steel ironworker 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 ironworker 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 ironworker resume templates

Build a professional structural steel ironworker 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 ironworker resume.