Wages vary according to training, experience and location. Entry level wages may be lower. Pay varies with the location and the employer. In general, wages are higher in large cities. Union workers tend to receive higher wages.
Apprentices generally start at about half the wage paid to experienced workers.
As apprentices gain experience and skills, their pay increases. Ironworkers may lose work time to bad weather or economic downturns. Thus, their overall earnings may be lower than these wages suggest. There were 2,600 people employed as ironworkers or structural metal workers in Indiana in 1998. It is estimated that between 1996 and 2006, about 130 jobs per year will need to be filled in this occupation.