Careers / Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$53,750
United States, 2025
Employment
416,210
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 51-4121.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$39,240
25th percentile
$46,790
75th percentile
$63,010
90th percentile
$77,530
Most important skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.1
- Monitoring3.0
- Critical Thinking2.9
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9
- Operations Monitoring2.8
- Time Management2.8
- Speaking2.6
- Operation and Control2.6
- Active Listening2.6
- Complex Problem Solving2.5
- Reading Comprehension2.5
- Troubleshooting2.5
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 2 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
2
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lima, OH | $85,790 | 470 | 2025 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $81,120 | 430 | 2025 |
| AK | $80,840 | 790 | 2025 |
| Fairbanks, AK | $80,210 | 70 | 2025 |
| HI | $79,000 | 520 | 2025 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $78,170 | 3,690 | 2025 |
| Hartford, CT | $75,040 | 670 | 2025 |
| Anchorage, AK | $74,000 | 250 | 2025 |
| Lake Charles, LA | $72,920 | 970 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $71,720 | 740 | 2025 |
| Kahului, HI | $67,280 | 40 | 2025 |
| Portland, ME | $66,420 | 1,060 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $66,240 | 3,230 | 2025 |
| St. Joseph, MO | $66,060 | 610 | 2025 |
| Boulder, CO | $65,040 | 260 | 2025 |
| CT | $64,880 | 1,790 | 2025 |
| Kennewick, WA | $64,720 | 260 | 2025 |
| Alexandria, LA | $64,490 | 230 | 2025 |
| Staunton, VA | $64,470 | 390 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $64,320 | 1,990 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.