25 of the Highest Paying Structural Jobs in 2026

The best Structural jobs can pay up to $165,000 per year.

High Paying Structural Jobs

• Stress Analyst

  Salary range: $130,000 - $165,000

  The majority of Stress Analyst salaries across the United States currently range between $130,000 (25th percentile) and $165,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Stress Analyst job market in the United States is somewhat active, with a few companies hiring.

• Stress Engineer

  Salary range: $117,500 - $161,000

  As a stress engineer, you make models using various materials and apply stress to test how much strain the structures can handle. Your duties are to conduct a detailed analysis of your test cases and to report to other engineers, architects, and facilities managers. You can find stress engineer jobs in many industries, including aerospace and aviation, automotive, medical, nuclear power, and plastics. Much of your work takes place in a laboratory, where you build prototypes from different materials to figure out which materials and what designs can withstand the most stress.

• Structural Analysis Engineer

  Salary range: $114,000 - $158,500

  As a structural analysis engineer, you test equipment, buildings, and manufactured products to determine whether or not they meet performance goals, standards, regulations, and requirements. You may perform a stress test on various materials, monitor construction data, evaluate equipment or design blueprints, and otherwise help to ensure the final product is structurally sound. Most structural analysis engineers focus on building construction, but some work with aircraft, cars, or other heavy equipment instead. This job is highly time-sensitive because construction often cannot proceed until structural analysis checks are done. So, the ability to work quickly and efficiently is essential to success in this role.

• Mrb Engineer

  Salary range: $83,500 - $155,000

  A material review board (MRB) engineer performs duties related to the complex engineering problems of aerospace design and development. As an MRB engineer, your responsibilities include reviewing and resolving defects and nonconforming conditions in assemblies, documenting and determining if abnormalities are related to engineering issues, and ensuring corrections will not negatively affect the functionality of systems. You also verify that materials are structurally adequate for their purpose in the assembly, monitor installation of those materials, and help implement any changes as needed.

• Senior Structural Engineer

  Salary range: $100,500 - $136,500

  The majority of Senior Structural Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $100,500 (25th percentile) and $136,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Senior Structural Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Forensic Structural Engineer

  Salary range: $97,000 - $134,500

  A forensic structural engineer handles the investigation and inspection of building structures to ensure compliance with industry regulation and discover reasons for failure. Your primary responsibilities in this career have you analyzing damage to structures, identifying causes of structural failures, and preparing reports on your findings. Your duties may also include developing protocols for dealing with compliance issues, reviewing photos and site information, and researching code specifications. A forensic structural engineer often works on multiple projects, visits various field sites, and collaborates with several team members.

• Structural Design Engineer

  Salary range: $74,000 - $132,000

  The majority of Structural Design Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $74,000 (25th percentile) and $132,000 (75th percentile) annually. This large range of salary potential suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay depending on skill level, location and years of experience. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Structural Design Engineer job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Civil Structural Engineer

  Salary range: $76,500 - $125,500

  The majority of Civil Structural Engineer salaries across the United States currently range between $76,500 (25th percentile) and $125,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Civil Structural Engineer job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Civil Structural Designer

  Salary range: $78,000 - $118,500

  The job of a civil structural designer is to provide engineering services for the construction of buildings, bridges, and structure foundation. Your responsibilities in this career include producing 3D models and 2D drawings with CAD software in accordance with project specifications. You investigate sites and complete steel and concrete modeling and drafting for both the front-end planning and detailed engineering phase. You are expected to help the lead designer deliver project requirements related to cost, schedule, quantities, and scope and perform conceptual layout work. Other duties include working closely with engineers, writing reports and correspondences, and speaking with clients and employees.

• Structural Engineer

  Salary range: $80,000 - $113,000

  Structural engineering is a branch of civil engineering that involves the design, construction, and repair of many different types of structures. The job of a structural engineer is to act as a consultant to architects and contractors throughout the construction project, offering expert advice on technical problems. Structural engineers are typically contracted on projects involving sports arenas, bridges, large buildings, or any other weight-bearing structure. On a day-to-day basis, a structural engineer may assist the head architect with initial layout and design of a structure, including plans for maintenance or overall remodels. They calculate loads, such as wind, snow, and earthquake forces, to determine which structural system is safest. Some structural engineers specialize in demolition and are responsible for ensuring projects are carried out safely and without damage to surrounding structures. Others specialize in oil drilling machinery, aircraft and shipbuilding vehicle design, or temporary structure builds.

• Combination Welder

  Salary range: $47,000 - $91,000

  A combination welder uses specialized tools to weld together pieces of metal for assembly into mechanical equipment, such as motors or machines. As a combination welder, your job duties include manufacturing and fabricating metal products, maintaining all of your tools in good working order, providing training to other welders, and following all health and safety guidelines. Qualifications for this career include experience handling different types of welding tools, such as arc and gas welders, hand-eye coordination skills, and the ability to read blueprints and other schematics to follow specifications. Combination welders typically obtain training through college programs or welding school.

• Stress Test Technician

  Salary range: $55,000 - $84,000

  As a stress test technician, you are responsible for performing electrocardiogram (ECG) tests on patients while they exercise or walk on a treadmill to gather data on their heart. You monitor the patient and their heart during exercise and record exercise intensity, patient pain levels, and blood pressure. You must ensure the proper placement of electrodes on the patient's body to obtain appropriate data. You must inform the appropriate care providers with any cardiac abnormalities or concerns that occur before, during, or after ECG testing. Duties also include maintaining the ECG equipment, keeping the ECG lab clean, and restocking supplies as needed.

• Structural Drafter

  Salary range: $50,000 - $72,000

  A structural drafter creates the final drawings, sketches, and designs for buildings and other structures. As a structural drafter, you use drafting programs to develop these plans. You usually have a specialization, such as drafting bridges, commercial buildings, or docks. Qualifications for this career include an associate or bachelor’s degree in drafting technology, architecture, or civil engineering, as well as a few years of related job experience. It is preferable to have drafting certification and CAD system knowledge. Essential skills and duties include the ability to work independently while executing other people’s ideas, background in math and statistics, familiarity with building codes, and the ability to conceptualize spaces.

• Steel Worker

  Salary range: $32,000 - $70,500

  A steelworker, also known as an ironworker or iron steelworker, is a structural construction builds and installs the metal frame of structures like buildings or bridges. They work with structural iron or structural steel, and their duties include using welding and riveting equipment. They must follow all safety protocols at all times. You must complete an apprenticeship to gain the skills and qualifications needed for this job.

• Steel Detailer

  Salary range: $56,000 - $69,500

  A steel detailer creates detailed drawings of buildings, structures, and other construction that involves steel. As a steel detailer, you draw a plan for the construction of structures or bridges using various software. Your responsibilities include working with a steel fabricator as they produce steel building components. Other duties involve working with software to create accurate and structurally stable designs. As a steel detailer, you use technical design skills to communicate a plan for cost-effective and technically sound structures. You may collaborate with contractors and supervisors during the construction of a structure.

• Structural Steel Detailer

  Salary range: $46,500 - $66,500

  Structural steel detailers create structural steel drawings and prepare steel erection plans for buildings, bridges, and miscellaneous steel items. In this role, you utilize detailing software, such as SDS/2 software, and computer-assisted design (CAD) programs to draft your blueprints. As a structural steel detailer, you gather information on community and environmental factors of the area, discuss the specifications and expectations of the project with your client, review small-scale models, manage the preparation of the build project, and ensure the structure meets building standards. You also plan and collaborate with fabricators, architects, and other engineers throughout the project to ensure you complete the project by the deadline and within budget.

• Tank Welder

  Salary range: $59,000 - $65,500

  As a tank welder, your responsibilities include fabricating, repairing, and modifying various tanks, including material containers and tanks for fluid or ground storage, by welding and completing other processes associated with welding such as grinding, buffing, and chipping. As a fitter, your job includes fitting and assembling components using tack welding or fasteners. Depending on the task, you work with steel and other metal types, perform hand-welding, filling holes, and repairing indentations. You may also engage in flame-cutting and the use of a thermal cutter on some projects. Other job duties include painting, cleaning, wrapping, and preparing finished products for shipment.

• Structural Welder

  Salary range: $43,000 - $56,500

  A structural welder plays a vital role in the construction of most buildings, roads, and freeways. They build and install iron or steel girders, columns, and other materials to form buildings, bridges, and other structures. They also cut, position, and bolt down steel bars to reinforce concrete. They may repair old infrastructure. And can also weld and cut structural metal in fabricating shops.

• Steel Erector

  Salary range: $41,000 - $55,500

  A steel erector typically works in construction, installing, repairing, and maintaining steel buildings and other structures. As a steel erector, it’s your responsibility to install cross beams, girders, scaffolds, sheeting, and similar fixtures. Your job duties include coordinating heavy equipment operation, welding steel components, helping develop building plans, and troubleshooting on-site items. A steel erector works closely with the foreman and engineers on each project. The job often involves working at great heights on multi-story buildings and structures.

• Aluminum Welder

  Salary range: $42,000 - $55,000

  Aluminum welders use a variety of tools and techniques to connect aluminum parts. As an aluminum welder, you follow the specifications of each blueprint and ensure they meet all safety regulations and quality assurance expectations. Your duties may include using a spool gun to feed a wire through a MIG machine or using MIG, TIG, or Arc welding techniques. Grinding, drilling, cutting, and other preparations of the metal products are also required. You may also be responsible for maintaining your welding equipment, changing welding parts as needed, and moving finished products to its storage location.

• Structural Fitter

  Salary range: $42,000 - $53,500

  A structural fitter is a metal worker who produces building materials for construction projects, such as for tall buildings and container ships. Your duties and responsibilities include the layout and assembly of parts that make up a structure, and you may weld pieces or use other tools, such as jack bars, turnbuckles, pry bars, hammers, or grinders to ensure that the materials align perfectly. Sometimes you move the parts manually while for larger jobs you use cranes or other equipment to move pieces into place.

• Tig Welder

  Salary range: $41,000 - $53,000

  A TIG (tungsten inert gas) welder is a welding professional who specializes in using TIG arc welding equipment. A welder is someone who is highly skilled at joining pieces of metal for construction and manufacturing purposes. These joints must be very strong and highly accurate. A TIG welder uses an arc welder fueled by tungsten inert gas to perform a process known as GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding). This is usually used to join thin, non-ferrous metals, like stainless steel.

• Arc Welder

  Salary range: $33,500 - $52,500

  An arc welder is a metal worker that uses electricity to join metal to metal, as opposed to traditional welding processes. The welding machine used in the process creates a tremendous amount of heat using an electrode and the base metal material to generate an electric current. In this career, your job duties include welding pieces of metal together as part of the construction process, ensuring the arc welding machine is functioning correctly, and performing routine maintenance on the welder. The qualifications needed for a career as an arc welder include a high school diploma and experience as a welding apprentice. There are also vocational programs available that teach you the skills needed for the job.

• Tack Welder

  Salary range: $34,000 - $52,000

  A tack welder uses several short bursts of heat from equipment to create a temporary weld between two metal joints. It works through the same process as creating a full weld, but is used only for temporary joints. In this career, your job duties are to position the two or more joints of metal where they need to be then apply heat to them to create a tack weld. You also need to keep your work area clean and adhere to all safety procedures. To become a welder, you need to have general machining skills, which you can obtain in a technical college or technical prep program from high school. Your first welding job can give you valuable experience to start your career.

• Mig Welder

  Salary range: $37,000 - $45,500

  A MIG welder uses specialized equipment to weld metal parts to fabricate metal products. The MIG welding process requires a constant voltage power supply to produce heat. The welder operates a small electrode to form the weld while a shielding gas protects the weld from the air. The welder must carefully monitor the MIG welding machine during operation to ensure that no problems arise, like spatter or poor contact tips. MIG welding machines must be well maintained.