What Does a Pipefitter Do?
Whether a hospital needs steam for its sterilizers or a lab needs chilled water for its equipment, both rely on high-pressure pipe systems that most people never see. Pipefitters install and repair that piping in plants, hospitals and campus steam tunnels, and some employers call them steamfitters or utility piping specialists.
Also known as: Utility Piping Specialist, Steamfitter, Lead Utility Piping Specialist, Steam Equipment Mechanic
Pipefitter Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a pipefitter include:
- Lay out and install steam, condensate, chilled water and compressed air piping from isometric drawings.
- Cut, thread and groove steel pipe, and join it by welding, flanging or mechanical couplings.
- Test and replace steam traps across the distribution system to stop energy losses.
- Repack or replace valves, expansion joints and pressure-reducing stations in steam tunnels and vaults.
- Pressure-test new lines with water or air and repair leaks before insulation goes on.
- Hang and brace pipe with rods, clamps and supports sized for the load.
- Isolate, drain and lock out sections of pipe before repairs, following confined-space rules.
- Rig and move heavy valves and pipe sections with chain hoists and come-alongs.
- Respond to steam leaks and broken chilled water lines, day or night.
- Mark up drawings with field changes so the next crew knows exactly where each line runs.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a pipefitter, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Reading isometric and piping drawings
- Pipe threading, grooving and fitting
- Welding qualification for pressure piping
- Steam system knowledge: traps, reducing valves and condensate return
- Rigging and hoisting
- Confined-space and lockout safety
- Math for offsets, angles and pipe lengths
- Stamina for tunnels, vaults and mechanical rooms
Education and Training
Some states and cities require pipefitters to hold a license, so check the local rules early. The training itself is a paid apprenticeship, often run by a union local or a contractor group, that takes applicants with a high school diploma. Welding courses at a technical college are a smart addition, since so much fitting work involves joining pipe.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $50,190 - $85,110 per year, with a median of $63,800.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters.
BLS projects employment of plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters to grow about 7 percent from 2025 to 2035. The agency also expects about 42,000 openings a year across the group, many of them to replace fitters who retire. Work in new construction often is tied to the economy, but hospital and campus plants need fitters in good years and bad, which makes their maintenance shops a steady place to build a career.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.