What does a structural welder do?
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.
Structural welder responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real structural welder resumes:
- Manage and run production parts through the brake.
- Fabricate and assemble small parts and components with the GMAW, SMAW, FCAW and aluminum weld process.
- Bound structural as well as nonstructural parts by means of welding according to drawings using MIG and TIG welding of steel.
- Weld, and fabricate pressure vessels using GMAW process.
- Fix various stock trailers and other equipment that come in for repairs using FCAW, and GMAW.
- Weld separately or in combination using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.
- Weld using GMAW and FCAW-DS.
- Install gas baffles with GTAW.
- Preheat all metals before beginning job.
- Weld TIG and stick on specific assembles.
- Practice with a tig rig on pipe.
- Utilize mig welding techniques on steel in a shipyard facility.
- Tack-Weld fitted parts together and direct helper to tack-weld parts.
- Preheat workpieces preparatory to welding or bending, using torch.
- Assist erection crew through bolt-up and weld out to AWS D1.1 code.
Structural welder skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Structural Welders are proficient in SMAW, FCAW, and MIG. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Manual dexterity, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Structural Welders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- SMAW, 9%
Welded furnace boxes, piping systems, structural I-beams, and pipe rack supports using SMAW process for new construction.
- FCAW, 8%
Welded complete parts utilizing FCAW welding techniques under AWS D1.1 and AWS D1.2 codes.
- MIG, 8%
Used equipment and welded parts using MIG and SMAC welding procedures to meet specified engineering requirements under guidance and supervision.
- Arc Welding, 8%
Have pipe fitting and stick welding knowledge as well as being AWS certified in all positions with flux core arc welding.
- GMAW, 6%
Welded, and fabricated pressure vessels using GMAW process.
- Hand Tools, 5%
Repair by dismantling, straightening, reshaping and reassembling work pieces, using cutting torch and other hand tools.
Most structural welders use their skills in "smaw," "fcaw," and "mig" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential structural welder responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a structural welder to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers perform precision work, often with straight edges." Structural welders often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "fabricated steel from detailed blueprints mig welding using blueprints layout of steel structures from blueprints quality control"
Manual dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling structural welder 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 structural welder resume, here's how structural welders can utilize manual dexterity in their job responsibilities: "promoted to weld instructor working with coast guard giving various tests to employees for automatic mig and manual tig of aluminum. "
Physical strength. This is an important skill for structural welders to perform their duties. For an example of how structural welder responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers must be able to lift heavy pieces of metal and move welding or cutting equipment." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a structural welder: "experience working in a physically demanding environment (shipbuilding, steel fabrication, etc. ".
The three companies that hire the most structural welders are:
- Aerotek61 structural welders jobs
- Gulf Island8 structural welders jobs
- NANA8 structural welders jobs
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Compare different structural welders
Structural welder vs. Welder-machine operator
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, structural welder responsibilities require skills like "mig," "hand tools," "osha," and "ladders." Meanwhile a typical welder-machine operator has skills in areas such as "cnc," "tape measure," "tack," and "machine operation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Welder-machine operators tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $54,740. In contrast, structural welders make the biggest average salary, $50,882, in the construction industry.welder-machine operators tend to reach similar levels of education than structural welders. In fact, welder-machine operators are 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Structural welder vs. Welder first class
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, structural welder responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "mig," "hand tools," "osha," and "ladders." Meanwhile, a welder first class has duties that require skills in areas such as "flux core," "ppe," "tack," and "aluminum mig." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, welders first class achieve similar levels of education than structural welders. They're 1.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Structural welder vs. Ship fitter
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, structural welders are more likely to have skills like "osha," "ladders," "flux core wire," and "overhead positions." But a ship fitter is more likely to have skills like "tack-weld," "math," "tape measure," and "cranes."
Ship fitters earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $54,661. Comparatively, structural welders have the highest earning potential in the construction industry, with an average salary of $50,882.ship fitters typically earn similar educational levels compared to structural welders. Specifically, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Structural welder vs. Welder-assembler
Even though a few skill sets overlap between structural welders and welder-assemblers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a structural welder might have more use for skills like "hand tools," "osha," "ladders," and "flux core wire." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of welder-assemblers require skills like "blueprint specifications," "assembly line," "tack," and "flux core. "
Welder-assemblers reach similar levels of education compared to structural welders, in general. The difference is that they're 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of structural welder
Updated January 8, 2025
