Sheet Metal Worker | Sheet Metal Jobs | Sheet Metal Fabricator
Sheet Metal Worker Jobs - What is the Job of Sheet Metal Workers? What does a Sheet Metal Job Involve?
Sheet metal workers are responsible for maintaining and installing the parts of buildings that are made out of fiber glass, plastic, and sheet metal. These systems can include roofs, siding, skylights, heating, cooling systems, machinery, and railroad cars, among other sheet metal products.
A sheet metal worker will first study blueprint plans in order to determine the type of materials and the quantity that will be necessary in order to complete the metal working job. After obtaining these materials, a sheet metal worker will then cut, bend, and shape these metals in order to make ductwork or other products.
It is becoming increasingly common for sheet metal workers to use metalworking equipment that is operated by computers in order to save on material and labor, and they will often drill and cut parts using computer controlled saws, lasers, and die presses.
For tasks which cannot be completed by computer, a sheet metal worker will use tapes and rollers to measure the proper amount of metal and then they will stamp the parts using machines.
Before placing parts together, a sheet metal worker will check to make sure that each party has been cut accurately and they will finish or smooth the edges of some pieces using hack saws, rotary tools, and squaring shears. After cleaning the metal to their satisfaction, a sheet metal job will involve fastening pieces of metal together using welds, bolts, rivets, or solder and then sheet metal workers will install these pieces by joining them together.
Some sheet metal worker jobs are done on site, while others are cut in a sheet metal shop. For example, if a sheet metal worker is installing a metal roof, they will measure the panels on site, installing one panel, and then welding them together in order to create one solid metal piece.
Other sheet metal jobs include testing, balancing, servicing, and adjusting various ventilation systems in order to make sure that they are working correctly. Duct system installers are also known as HVAC technicians.
Some sheet metal fabricators may specialize in creating large sheet metal parts for aircraft and industrial machinery, often in assembly line types of work.
Working Conditions for Sheet Metal Jobs - How is the Working Environment for Sheet Metal Jobs?
Sheet metal fabricators usually work in well ventilated work sites, however, they will have to stand for long periods of time and lift heavy material. Other risks of a sheet metal job include suffering burns from welding, receiving cuts from metal, and falling from ladders.
Sheet metal workers will wear the proper safety gear in order to protect themselves from workplace dangers, and most of them will work a 40 hour workweek.
Sheet Metal Education - How to Become a Sheet Metal Worker - How to Receive Your Sheet Metal Work Training
Sheet metal worker training will usually take four years of classroom and on the job instruction. A nonunion route that can be taken involves obtaining work as a sheet metal helper carrying metal and cleaning up trash in a metal shop in order to learn how sheet metal machinery operates.
As they become an apprentice, a sheet metal worker employer will often send an employee to a trade school, so that they can receive more training. Union sheet metal shops offer formal training and are administered by the Sheet Metal Workers International Association and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association.
Sheet metal workers may choose to specialize in residential HVAC installation and maintenance or industrial welding. When they start on the job, a sheet metal apprentice will receive safety training and will learn the basics of how to cut, bend, and install various types of sheet metal.
As sheet metal training progresses, an apprentice will learn how to work with complex materials such as fiber glass and plastics, and they will learn how to form complex ducts for commercial structures and decorative projects.
Union sheet metal apprentices will also learn drafting, trigonometry, welding, air conditioning, and heating systems.
Sheet Metal Training Requirements - How to Become a Sheet Metal Worker
Other skills that sheet metal workers should possess include good hand eye coordination and spatial abilities. Sheet metal workers must stay informed of technological developments such as new computerized sheet metal cutting machines.
Sheet metal certification is available from a number of organizations, but it is usually offered automatically upon graduating from a union approved sheet metal program. Over time, a sheet metal worker may advance to a supervisory position in the shop in which they work.
Other sheet metal workers decide to become a contractor and work alone on residential metal working projects or to hire other workers and tackle larger commercial projects. Another area that sheet metal workers may enter into involves quality inspection work.
Sheet Metal Employment - What is a Sheet Metal Job?
Sheet metal worker careers should grow in number by about 7% over the next decade. The need to install more energy efficient heating and cooling systems in commercial and residential buildings is responsible for most of this sheet metal employment growth. Job prospects overall are excellent as the training level is quite high and few people decide to enter the field.
Sheet metal workers can experience unemployment due to economic fluctuations, but companies will usually spring for more efficient heating and cooling upgrades in order to save on their utility bills.
Sheet Metal Work Pay Scale - How Much Do Sheet Metal Workers Earn?
In 2006, sheet metal worker jobs had median hourly earnings of $17.96. Those sheet metal fabricators working for building contractors had the highest rated median pay at $18.84, and those working in structural manufacturing had the lowest median rate of pay at $16.60 an hour.
Union sheet metal workers usually start out as apprentices at 50% of pay scale, and receive higher median wages than those workers who are nonunion.