Boilermakers

Also Called:

Boiler Maker,

Boiler Mechanic,

Boiler Technician,

Boilermaker

What they do: Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.

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Architecture & Construction

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Attach rigging and signal crane or hoist operators to lift heavy frame and plate sections or other parts into place.
  • Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
  • Repair or replace defective pressure vessel parts, such as safety valves or regulators, using torches, jacks, caulking hammers, power saws, threading dies, welding equipment, or metalworking machinery.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Initiative

Persistence

Achievement/Effort

Independence

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Engineering and Technology

  • Design

  • Building and construction

Math and Science

  • Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

Manufactured or Agricultural Goods

  • Manufacture and distribution of products

Business

  • Customer service

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

Controlled Movement

  • Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat

  • Use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Use rules to solve problems

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Relationships

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop