Fabricate and erect steel structures, perform welding operations, and work with structural steel in construction and repair projects.
ASVAB AR+MC+AS: 145
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Seabee Steelworkers build with metal, which means welding, cutting, rigging and erecting the structural steel that holds a project upright. On a job you may fabricate from drawings in a shop, weld pipe, set and plumb columns and beams, or rig a lift with a crane crew. The work is outdoors and physical, in heat, wind and rain, with the noise, sparks and grinding dust that come with any metal trade. Battalion deployments send you overseas for months to build for fleet and Marine forces, and disaster response can put you repairing structures after a storm. Homeport time mixes shop fabrication, training, equipment maintenance and stateside construction tasking for other commands.
You learn welding in multiple processes and positions, including stick, wire and gas processes on plate and pipe, plus torch and plasma cutting. Blueprint reading, layout, fabrication and the accurate measurement that keeps a structure square become abilities you use every working day. Rigging and crane signaling are trained properly, covering load charts, slings, hitches and the planning that makes a lift safe for everyone. Structural erection teaches bolting, plumbing and alignment of steel, and you also pick up reinforcing steel placement and sheet metal work. Weld quality standards and inspection are enforced, so you learn what a sound weld looks like and how it gets tested.
Metal work builds patience and steadiness, because a good weld comes from a controlled hand and a settled, unhurried mind. You develop physical toughness and a willingness to work all day in gear that is hot before you even strike an arc. The trade teaches precision, since steel that is slightly out of square at the base is badly out of square at the top. Working around heavy suspended loads grows a constant awareness of what is above you and what is behind you. Steelworkers tend to be direct, capable people who measure a day by what is standing when they finally leave.
Structural welding and ironwork are in demand across construction, shipbuilding, pipelines, energy and manufacturing, and skilled welders are consistently hard to hire. Welding certification is the gate in this trade, and your documented experience positions you to test for the qualifications employers require. Ironworker and boilermaker apprenticeships frequently credit military construction time toward apprenticeship hours, shortening the road to journeyman scale and its benefits. Pipe welding, fabrication shop work and weld inspection are well paid specialties you can deliberately grow into over time. Many veterans move up to foreman or superintendent, and some build their own fabrication or mobile welding business.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“I wanted to see what being a Steelworker had to offer me. I have worked in carpentry construction with my dad, and I really wanted to get outside of that. I wanted a good trade that was in high demand that I had not tried.”
“I want to pass on anything I learn to others. I want to develop myself to be well-rounded, as well as other people.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
You open the day laying out steel and firing up your welding rig at the construction site. Your work involves fabricating and erecting structural steel, welding, cutting, and rigging beams into place for buildings and infrastructure. Burning rod, reading blueprints, and hoisting steel with your Seabee crew defines your hands-on day.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy SW Steelworker, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Fabricate and erect steel structures, perform welding operations, and work with structural steel in construction and repair projects.
Seabee Steelworkers build with metal, which means welding, cutting, rigging and erecting the structural steel that holds a project upright. On a job you may fabricate from drawings in a shop, weld pipe, set and plumb columns and beams, or rig a lift with a crane crew. The work is outdoors and physical, in heat, wind and rain, with the noise, sparks and grinding dust that come with any metal trade. Battalion deployments send you overseas for months to build for fleet and Marine forces, and disaster response can put you repairing structures after a storm. Homeport time mixes shop fabrication, training, equipment maintenance and stateside construction tasking for other commands.
You learn welding in multiple processes and positions, including stick, wire and gas processes on plate and pipe, plus torch and plasma cutting. Blueprint reading, layout, fabrication and the accurate measurement that keeps a structure square become abilities you use every working day. Rigging and crane signaling are trained properly, covering load charts, slings, hitches and the planning that makes a lift safe for everyone. Structural erection teaches bolting, plumbing and alignment of steel, and you also pick up reinforcing steel placement and sheet metal work. Weld quality standards and inspection are enforced, so you learn what a sound weld looks like and how it gets tested.
Structural welding and ironwork are in demand across construction, shipbuilding, pipelines, energy and manufacturing, and skilled welders are consistently hard to hire. Welding certification is the gate in this trade, and your documented experience positions you to test for the qualifications employers require. Ironworker and boilermaker apprenticeships frequently credit military construction time toward apprenticeship hours, shortening the road to journeyman scale and its benefits. Pipe welding, fabrication shop work and weld inspection are well paid specialties you can deliberately grow into over time. Many veterans move up to foreman or superintendent, and some build their own fabrication or mobile welding business.
ASVAB AR+MC+AS: 145. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Navy, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.