Ironworker job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$62,780

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Structural Iron and Steel Workers (O*NET-SOC 47-2221.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required. importance 4.5 of 5
2. Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using plumb bobs, laser equipment, transits, or levels. importance 4.1 of 5
3. Erect metal or precast concrete components for structures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, towers, storage tanks, fences, or highway guard rails. importance 4.1 of 5
4. Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place. importance 4.0 of 5
5. Assemble or inspect hoisting equipment or rigging, such as cables, pulleys, or hooks, to move heavy equipment or materials. importance 4.0 of 5
6. Lift steel beams, girders, or columns using cranes or forklifts, or by signaling hoisting equipment operators to lift or position structural steel members. importance 4.0 of 5
7. Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors. importance 4.0 of 5
8. Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors. importance 4.0 of 5
9. Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place. importance 4.0 of 5
10. Unload and position prefabricated steel units for hoisting, as needed. importance 4.0 of 5
11. Fasten structural steel members to hoist cables, using chains, cables, or rope. importance 3.9 of 5
12. Cut, bend, or weld steel pieces, using metal shears, torches, or welding equipment. importance 3.8 of 5
13. Force structural steel members into final positions, using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, or hand tools. importance 3.8 of 5
14. Ride on girders or other structural steel members to position them, or use rope to guide them into position. importance 3.6 of 5
15. Drive drift pins through rivet holes to align rivet holes in structural steel members with corresponding holes in previously placed members. importance 3.5 of 5
16. Dismantle structures or equipment. importance 3.5 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Handling and Moving Objects, Performing General Physical Activities, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates and Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled.
• Place blocks under reinforcing bars used to reinforce floors.
• Hold rivets while riveters use air hammers to form heads on rivets.
• Catch hot rivets in buckets and insert rivets in holes, using tongs.

Knowledge areas: Building and Construction, Public Safety and Security, Production and Processing, Mechanical and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Outlook, Inventory tracking software, Cost estimating software, Project scheduling software, Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists apprenticeship as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an ironworker.

Job title: Ironworker
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Ironworker to raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required.
- Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using plumb bobs, laser equipment, transits, or levels.
- Erect metal or precast concrete components for structures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, towers, storage tanks, fences, or highway guard rails.
- Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place.
- Assemble or inspect hoisting equipment or rigging, such as cables, pulleys, or hooks, to move heavy equipment or materials.
- Lift steel beams, girders, or columns using cranes or forklifts, or by signaling hoisting equipment operators to lift or position structural steel members.
- Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors.
- Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in operations monitoring, operation and control and coordination
- Working knowledge of Building and Construction and Public Safety and Security
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Outlook or Inventory tracking software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $62,780 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $30.18. BLS estimates about 68,380 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Structural Iron and Steel Workers to grow 3.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,900 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full ironworker salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real ironworker posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only ironworker work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (operations monitoring and operation and control).