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Job Description

Overview

A family-owned steel erection company is seeking an experienced Field Welder / Structural Steel Technician to join its team. This position focuses on local Metro-area projects only, allowing you to be home every night with no overnight travel required.

Responsibilities

  • Perform SMAW (stick) welding using 7018 electrodes on structural steel components
  • Install columns, beams, bar joists, metal decking, and other structural steel systems
  • Install miscellaneous metals including handrails, guardrails, stairs, platforms, and mezzanines
  • Assist with rigging, signaling, and steel placement operations using cranes
  • Operate aerial lifts, scissor lifts, and other jobsite equipment
  • Read blueprints, layout drawings, and field measurements
  • Use hand tools and installation equipment to complete projects safely and accurately
  • Work closely with project teams to maintain quality and production goals
  • Maintain a safe work environment on active commercial and industrial jobsites

Requirements

  • Previous structural steel welding and erection experience
  • D1.1 Certification preferred or ability to demonstrate equivalent experience
  • Strong SMAW (stick welding) skills using 7018 rod
  • Experience installing structural steel, bar joists, metal decking, stairs, or railings
  • Ability to work at heights and lift 50+ pounds
  • Experience operating lifts and working around cranes
  • Ability to read a tape measure accurately and interpret blueprints
  • Valid driver's license and reliable transportation

Benefits

  • PTO
  • 401k
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision

Additional Information

  • Work is performed primarily on commercial and industrial construction sites throughout the Twin Cities Metro area
  • Typical hours are approximately 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday
  • This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Ramsey, MN

Benefits

PTO
401k
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
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How this job compares in Ramsey, MN

Pay in context

At roughly $33/hr, this posting sits about 12% above the $29/hr median for welding jobs across Minnesota — toward the top of a $27–$30/hr middle band drawn from 36 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 86% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Ramsey, MN

Ramsey, MN is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Minnesota as a whole we're tracking 65 other active welding openings from 39 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Minnesota.

Aerotek currently has 4 other openings live in Minnesota, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Minnesota at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Lake Air Products (8), Welding Shop in Minneapolis, MN (5), and Aerotek (4). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for Stick and Flux-Core work. Stick (SMAW) burns a flux-coated consumable rod and needs no shielding gas, so it works in wind, rain, and on dirty or rusted steel. That tolerance for bad conditions keeps it the default for field, structural, and repair work. Flux-cored (FCAW) runs a hollow wire filled with flux, combining MIG-like deposition rates with the outdoor tolerance of stick. It is the workhorse on heavy structural steel and shipbuilding, where thick sections and long welds reward speed.

See all structural welder openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • AWS D1.1 — the American Welding Society's Structural Welding Code for steel. It governs almost all building and structural steel work in the US, so a D1.1 qualification is the baseline credential for construction and ironworking.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Ramsey, MN

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Field Welder/Ironworker figures were last recalculated when this page was built.