Tack welder vs ship fitter

The differences between tack 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 tack welder and a ship fitter. Additionally, a ship fitter has an average salary of $45,247, which is higher than the $30,795 average annual salary of a tack welder.

The top three skills for a tack welder include tack welding, tape measure and FCAW. The most important skills for a ship fitter are hand tools, tack-weld, and tack welding.

Tack welder vs ship fitter overview

	Tack Welder	Ship Fitter
Yearly salary	$30,795	$45,247
Hourly rate	$14.81	$21.75
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	7,051	9,742
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 40%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Tack welder vs ship fitter salary

Tack welders and ship fitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tack Welder	Ship Fitter
Average salary	$30,795	$45,247
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $40,000	Between $31,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	Mount Laurel, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	BWX Technologies
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between tack welder and ship fitter education

There are a few differences between a tack welder and a ship fitter in terms of educational background:

	Tack Welder	Ship Fitter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 40%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Business
Most common college	-	-

Tack welder vs ship fitter demographics

Here are the differences between tack welders' and ship fitters' demographics:

	Tack Welder	Ship Fitter
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.2% Female, 6.8%	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 2.7% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	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%

Differences between tack welder and ship fitter duties and responsibilities

Tack welder example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Clean room tig welding of semiconductor gas lines.
Heated, form and dresses metal parts using torches or arc welding equipment.
Tack together pipe with tig rig.
Work in prefab assembly line in steal and aluminum shops.
Assist lead welder in welding, brazing and arc cutting activities.

Ship fitter example responsibilities.

Achieve x-ray certification on aluminum using MIG process.
Lead and assist in executing pipefitting/welding of steel, copper, PVC, and flange piping.
Cut materials with various tools including torches, reciprocating saws, grinders and plasma cutters to ensure exact measurements.
Work includes using torches, grinders and other power tools to cut material to size and prep to weld and paint.
Assemble hoisting and rigging equipment.
Repair and re-fit oil rig platforms.

Tack welder vs ship fitter skills

Common tack welder skills

Tack Welding, 21%
Tape Measure, 19%
FCAW, 16%
PPE, 9%
Tack-Weld, 6%
Blueprint Specifications, 6%

Common ship fitter skills

Hand Tools, 14%
Tack-Weld, 10%
Tack Welding, 7%
Tape Measure, 6%
Cranes, 6%
Safety Rules, 5%