Because materials used in ironworking are heavy and bulky, ironworkers must be in good physical condition. They also need good agility, balance, eyesight, and spatial perception in order to work at great heights on narrow beams and girders. Ironworkers should not be afraid of heights or suffer from dizziness. In the classroom, apprentices study blueprint reading, mathematics for layout work, the basics of structural erecting, rigging, reinforcing, welding and burning, ornamental erection and assembling, and the care and safe use of tools and materials. On the job, apprentices work in all aspects of the trade, such as unloading and storing materials at the job site, rigging materials for movement by crane or derrick, connecting structural steel, and welding.
Some ironworkers learn the trade informally on the job without completing an apprenticeship.
These workers generally do not receive classroom training, although some large contractors have extensive training programs. With experience, they perform more difficult tasks like cutting and fitting different parts. Learning through work experience alone may not provide training as complete as an apprenticeship program, however, and usually takes longer. Some experienced workers become supervisors. Others may go into the contracting business for themselves.