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Industrial vessels & power plants
Boilermaker
Enormous money, and you go where the work is.
Typical pay
$60k-$130k
How you get in
4-5 year paid apprenticeship
Outlook
Steady; power, refining and industrial maintenance drive it
Boilermakers build and repair boilers, pressure vessels and tanks. Outage and turnaround work at power plants and refineries pays extraordinarily well for intense stretches, and the lifestyle is genuinely nomadic.
A day in the life
- 5:00aSafety briefing and confined space permits
- 6:00aEnter the boiler and set up staging
- 9:00aCut out damaged tube sections
- 11:30aLunch outside the vessel
- 12:30pFit and weld replacement tubes
- 5:00pQuality inspection, then a 10-hour day becomes 12
How to get in
Union apprenticeship
Duration
4-5 years
Cost
$0 — paid while you train
Credential
Journeyman boilermaker
- Apply to a Boilermakers local — books open irregularly
- Pass the aptitude test, interview and physical
- Complete paid on-the-job training plus welding instruction
- Travel to outages as a journeyman with per diem
Certified welder into boilermaking
Duration
1-3 years
Cost
$0-$10,000
Credential
AWS and ASME pressure vessel certifications
- Build strong pipe and plate welding skills
- Get ASME Section IX certified for pressure work
- Hire on with an industrial contractor doing outage work
- Welding ability is the fastest way into this trade
Shop fabrication route
Duration
2-4 years
Cost
$0-$8,000
Credential
Welding and fitting certifications
- Work in a boiler or pressure vessel fabrication shop
- Learn layout, rolling and fitting in a controlled environment
- Far more stable and home-based than field outage work
- Lower pay than travel work, but a normal life
What people love
- · Outage work pays extremely well
- · Paid apprenticeship with strong pension
- · Travel and per diem add substantially to income
- · Highly skilled welding work
What wears people down
- · Confined spaces, heat and heights combined
- · Work is nomadic — you follow outages nationally
- · Long stretches away from home
- · Boom and bust between projects