The Salary of a Rig Welder
Rig welders join together pipe and other metal structures in oil refineries, oil and gas derricks, and offshore oil platforms. They can build metalwork structures, or maintain and repair existing frames. They earn their salaries by being able to work on the ground or, more often, suspended on a harness many feet in the air.
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Background
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Welders can learn their skills from post-secondary institutions such as technical schools, welding institutes or community colleges. Courses include not only the technical skill of welding, but also reading blueprints, mechanical drawing, metallurgy, physics and chemistry. Some employers train entry-level workers, but many prefer those with some experience, especially for the more hazardous conditions on oil rigs. Certification is available from the American Welding Society, and some employers will pay for classes and certification tests. Highly experienced welders may move up to become supervisors, inspectors or instructors.
Salaries
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that as of May 2010, rig welders in the oil and gas industry earned a mean $21.35 per hour or $44,410. They were some of the lowest-paid members in the industry, where the mean for all production occupations was $28.93 per hour or $60,180 per year. Higher salaries went to supervisors, with means at $36.11 per hour or $75,110 per year, while lower wages were given to inspectors, testers and samplers at a mean $20.44 per hour or $42,510 per year. Even compared to construction and extraction occupations in the field, welder salaries were lower than the average $24.48 per hour, or $50,920 per year.
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Support
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Support activities for mining hire out rig welders on a consulting or contract basis to companies that do not have their own workers on staff. Rig welders in this industry made a mean $23.27 per hour or $48,400 per year, which was higher than the salaries offered in oil and gas extraction. Welder wages were also better than the average of all production occupations in support activities, which were $21.14 per hour or $43,960 per year. Higher wages went to their supervisors, at a mean $31.40 per hour or $65,310, though the lowest salaries went to production worker helpers at a mean $12.26 per hour or $25,500 per year.
Welding
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Rig welders make far higher pay than any other types of welders, whose mean wages ran $17.96 per hour or $37,370 per year. However, the pay on oil rigs was not enough to put that industry in the top five for welding compensation. Number one for pay was spectator sports, where wages were a mean $31.10 per hour or $64,690 per year. Other high paying industries include natural gas distribution, land subdivision, electrical power generation and distribution, and scheduled air transportation at a mean $27.78 per hour or $57,780 per year.
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References
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