Production
Welder
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Median pay
$53,750
Growth to 2035
+2%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
40,300
Time to qualify*
9 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Welder
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
- Required
- AWS welding certifications (per process and position)
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Welder: 35% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
- Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.
- Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
- Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.
- Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
Also called: Assembly Line Brazer · Brazer · Fabrication Welder · Maintenance Welder · MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder) · Solderer · TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder) · Welder
Outlook and AI
Welders held 437,700 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 448,100 by 2035 (+2%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
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