Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Coordination
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- 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.
- Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors.
- Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place.
- Ride on girders or other structural steel members to position them, or use rope to guide them into position.
- Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors.
- Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place.
- Cut, bend, or weld steel pieces, using metal shears, torches, or welding equipment.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (48.5% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (57.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (30.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Structural Iron and Steel Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 72% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 73% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 68% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 55% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 96% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 5.97%
- Occasional contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others about half the time: 15.2%
- Contact with others most of the time: 40.79%
- Constant contact with others: 38.03%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 34.33%
- Important: 22.38%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 3.25%
- Important: 40.3%
- Very important: 5.97%
- Extremely important: 50.47%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 5.97%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 11.95%
- Some freedom: 34.33%
- A lot of freedom: 47.75%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 19.13%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.36%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.97%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 43.02%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.23%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.97%
- Every day: 12.93%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 48.99%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.69%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.31%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 9.45%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 26.97%
- Very serious: 8.73%
- Extremely serious: 18.18%
n = 10, Incumbent 08/2026
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Glaziers
Closeness 94/100
- Analyze
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
Closeness 94/100
- Analyze
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Mechanical Door Repairers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Closeness 92/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 47-2221.00 · SOC 47-2221 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8