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The differences between structural welders and ship fitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a structural welder and a ship fitter. Additionally, a ship fitter has an average salary of $45,247, which is higher than the $42,868 average annual salary of a structural welder.
The top three skills for a structural welder include SMAW, FCAW and MIG. The most important skills for a ship fitter are hand tools, tack-weld, and tack welding.
| Structural Welder | Ship Fitter | |
| Yearly salary | $42,868 | $45,247 |
| Hourly rate | $20.61 | $21.75 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 9,651 | 9,742 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The job of structural welders is to design, layout, and fabricate the metal framework for industrial and commercial buildings. They work for a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction. Their duties and responsibilities include testing welding and safety equipment, cutting, assembling, repairing building components such as girders and beams, and checking for gap and angle allowances. They either use manual or automated equipment to perform some of these tasks, such as power saws for cutting metals. Structural welders are also responsible for assessing the condition of the equipment.
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.
Structural welders and ship fitters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Structural Welder | Ship Fitter | |
| Average salary | $42,868 | $45,247 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $58,000 | Between $31,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | Mount Laurel, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Turner Construction | BWX Technologies |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Technology |
There are a few differences between a structural welder and a ship fitter in terms of educational background:
| Structural Welder | Ship Fitter | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Most common major | Precision Metal Working | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between structural welders' and ship fitters' demographics:
| Structural Welder | Ship Fitter | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.9% Female, 5.1% | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |