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Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
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.
Also Known As:
Assembly Line Brazer
Brazer
Fabrication Welder
MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder)
Maintenance Welder
Solderer
TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder)
Welder
Welder Fitter
Wirer
Wages
Annual wages for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
467,200
2% Change From 2024
Explore Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
- Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
- Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
- Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.
- Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
- Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
- Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
- Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.
- Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.
- Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
- Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
- Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
- Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.
- Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.
- Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.
- Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.
- Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
- Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.
- 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.
- Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
- Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.
- Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.
- Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces.
- Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.
- Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
- Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.
- Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
- Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.
- Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
- Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
- Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work.
- Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears.
- Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
- Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material.
- Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.
- Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")