How to become a Boilermaker

Official title: Boilermakers

Also called: Boiler Installer, Boiler Mechanic, Boiler Repairman, Boiler Service Technician (Boiler Service Tech), Boiler Technician (Boiler Tech), Boilermaker, Boilermaker Mechanic, Boilermaker Pipe Fitter, Boilermaker Welder, Industrial Boiler Service Technician (Industrial Boiler Service Tech)

Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.

Main tasks

• Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.
• Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
• Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
• Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
• Lay out plate, sheet steel, or other heavy metal and locate and mark bending and cutting lines, using protractors, compasses, and drawing instruments or templates.
• Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
• Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments.
• Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill presses.

How to become one

Boilermakers typically learn their trade through an apprenticeship program.

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Boilermaker Fitter. BLS lists an apprenticeship as the typical training for this occupation.
• Apprenticeship: Boilermaker I. BLS lists an apprenticeship as the typical training for this occupation.
• Apprenticeship: Boilermaker Ii. BLS lists an apprenticeship as the typical training for this occupation.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $76,410 a year The middle half earn $64,760 to $95,430.
• About 10,200 people work in this job now, and about 10,100 are projected by 2035. (-1.8%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Boilermaker?

Boilermakers typically learn their trade through an apprenticeship program.

How much does a Boilermaker earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $76,410 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $64,760 to $95,430.

Is a Boilermaker a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 10,200 people now and 10,100 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Boilermaker?

Usually not. Only 7% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Boilermaker Fitter.

Will AI change the work of a Boilermaker?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.