Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Design
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Position, align, fit, and weld parts to form complete units or subunits, following blueprints and layout specifications, and using jigs, welding torches, and hand tools.
- Verify conformance of workpieces to specifications, using squares, rulers, and measuring tapes.
- Tack-weld fitted parts together.
- Lay out and examine metal stock or workpieces to be processed to ensure that specifications are met.
- Align and fit parts according to specifications, using jacks, turnbuckles, wedges, drift pins, pry bars, and hammers.
- Locate and mark workpiece bending and cutting lines, allowing for stock thickness, machine and welding shrinkage, and other component specifications.
- Position or tighten braces, jacks, clamps, ropes, or bolt straps, or bolt parts in position for welding or riveting.
- Study engineering drawings and blueprints to determine materials requirements and task sequences.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (76.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (42.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (33.8%)
- 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 Metal Fabricators and Fitters 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 62% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 96% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 74% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 83% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 90% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 64% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 50% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: 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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 15.21%
- Contact with others about half the time: 2.95%
- Contact with others most of the time: 24.89%
- Constant contact with others: 56.95%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 60.95%
- Fairly important: 7.22%
- Important: 27.34%
- Very important: 0%
- Extremely important: 4.49%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 11.41%
- Important: 31.38%
- Very important: 8.38%
- Extremely important: 48.84%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.12%
- Very little freedom: 24.22%
- Limited freedom: 12.89%
- Some freedom: 30.92%
- A lot of freedom: 30.85%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 0.56%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.36%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 48.1%
- Every day: 42.98%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 34.28%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 37.02%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.15%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.99%
- Every day: 6.55%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 23.86%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.88%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 12.95%
- Every day: 9.7%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 12.29%
- Fairly serious: 36.93%
- Serious: 9.12%
- Very serious: 24.88%
- Extremely serious: 16.78%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 51-2041.00 · SOC 51-2041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8