Welder career

What welders do

• 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.

The most important tasks, as rated by workers in the occupation. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Job outlook

BLS projects welder jobs will grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% for all U.S. jobs, with about 40,300 openings a year as people join, retire, and change careers.

Jobs in 2025

437,700

Projected for 2035

448,100

Openings a year

40,300

Self-employed

4.3%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. Job counts include self-employed workers.

Training

Typical education to start

High school diploma or equivalent

Experience in a related job

None

Typical on-the-job training

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Source: BLS Employment Projections. Licensing rules vary by state; confirm with your state's licensing board.

Top-paying states

All 50 states and DC, ranked by welder pay

Top-paying metro areas

The top 20 metro areas for welder pay

Other trades