What are the pros and cons of being an ironworker?

The pros and cons of being an ironworker include good pay, steady work, novel situations, and problems to solve, while the cons are working outside in the elements, physical demands, and hazardous work.

How To Become An Iron Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is an iron worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Ironworkers establish, fabricate, construct, and install iron and steel frames for bridges, buildings, and other structures. The basic tasks of an ironworker revolve around understanding blueprint welding, cutting metals into specific customizations or shapes, assembling and stacking materials, coordinating with other members of the construction team, operating various machinery and devices, and attaching essential tools.

As an ironworker, you are to repair and replace existing elements of the buildings. Also, it is important for you as an ironworker to follow every company's federal and state safety regulations by wearing proper protective gear while working. In addition, it is your duty to keep every piece of equipment and tools in good working condition and to stack, load, and unload steel and even iron pieces.

Most of the time, ironworkers did not need a college education. The most common degree for this role is a high school diploma or GED. As an ironworker, you will earn an average salary of $34,802 a year.

ScoreIron WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,422

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.3

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.02%

Asian 1.62%

Black or African American 8.52%

Hispanic or Latino 17.30%

Unknown 4.91%

White 65.64%

Gender

female 4.40%

male 95.60%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.0

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an iron worker

Explore iron worker education requirements

Most common iron worker degrees

High School Diploma

54.7 %

Associate

15.8 %

Diploma

12.8 %

Start to develop specific iron worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Hoisting	9.94%
Torches	7.51%
Ironworker	7.09%
Bolt-Up	5.66%
MIG	4.44%

Complete relevant iron worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New iron workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an iron worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real iron worker resumes.

Research iron worker duties and responsibilities

Attain diverse professional experience from working in various craft disciplines in maintenance, turnaround and new construction projects.
Perform field welds on ferrous and non-ferrous metals using SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and GTAW.
Interpret blueprints and schematics, and MIG, FCAW, SMAW weld parts as defined in specification sheets.
Force structural- steel members in to final position using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, sleeve bars, and hand tools.

Prepare your iron worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your iron worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an iron worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Iron Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Iron Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Iron Worker resume.

Apply for iron worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an iron worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do iron workers rate their job?

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Iron Worker reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Pros

Pay was awesome ,easy work, a lot to learn

Cons

Frequent layoffs, gotta jump through a lot of hoops to be hired