Leads ironworker crews raising the steel skeletons of skyscrapers, stadiums, and bridges.
You plan the day's steel picks with the crane operator, watch your connectors bolt beams 400 feet up, and keep everyone tied off.
Union foremen on big projects earn top pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 12 years after high school. Paid 3-4 year Ironworkers union apprenticeship (or contractor programs): earn while you learn. Then 10+ years leading crews.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Ironworker Apprenticeship.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Digital models help plan steel erection, but leading crews safely at height on a live skyscraper stays human.
Classes: Geometry, Physics, Welding or construction CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.