How much does a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer make?

The median pay is $25.84 per hour — roughly $53,500 a year, with the real range running from about $18.87/hr (10th percentile) to $37.28/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer actually do all day?

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.

Manufacturing & Production

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.

What it pays
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers earn a median of $25.84/hr — about $53,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $18.87/hr; the top 10% earn $37.28/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually 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.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the day is spent working solo; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 6.3% of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.

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Related careers

Quick questions

How much does a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer make?: The median pay is $25.84 per hour — roughly $53,500 a year, with the real range running from about $18.87/hr (10th percentile) to $37.28/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer?: The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
What does a welders, cutters, solderers, and brazer actually do all day?: 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.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.