| Important Core Job Duties (in order of importance) For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 97 (%) | Description: Verify conformance of workpieces to specifications, using squares, rulers, and measuring tapes. |
| Importance: 96 (%) | Description: Study engineering drawings and blueprints to determine materials requirements and task sequences. |
| Importance: 96 (%) | Description: Move parts into position, manually or with hoists or cranes. |
| Importance: 89 (%) | Description: Position, align, fit, and weld parts to form complete units or subunits, following blueprints and layout specifications, and using jigs, welding torches, and hand tools. |
| Importance: 88 (%) | Description: Lay out and examine metal stock or workpieces to be processed to ensure that specifications are met. |
| Importance: 87 (%) | Description: Lift or move materials and finished products, using large cranes. |
| Importance: 86 (%) | Description: Hammer, chip, and grind workpieces to cut, bend, and straighten metal. |
| Importance: 85 (%) | Description: Set up face blocks, jigs, and fixtures. |
| Importance: 85 (%) | Description: Tack-weld fitted parts together. |
| Importance: 83 (%) | Description: Set up and operate fabricating machines, such as brakes, rolls, shears, flame cutters, grinders, and drill presses, to bend, cut, form, punch, drill, or otherwise form and assemble metal components. |
| Importance: 76 (%) | Description: Position or tighten braces, jacks, clamps, ropes, or bolt straps, or bolt parts in position for welding or riveting. |
| Importance: 76 (%) | Description: Remove high spots and cut bevels, using hand files, portable grinders, and cutting torches. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Locate and mark workpiece bending and cutting lines, allowing for stock thickness, machine and welding shrinkage, and other component specifications. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Align and fit parts according to specifications, using jacks, turnbuckles, wedges, drift pins, pry bars, and hammers. |
| Importance: 72 (%) | Description: Smooth workpiece edges and fix taps, tubes, and valves. |
Welding Careers and Jobs
Select, Find and Prepare for Welding Careers and Jobs - all on one page
For hands-on people who want a high-demand skilled trade with strong pay potential and low upfront debt. Use the tools below to see which welding roles fit your background and goals.
This skilled trade offers process-specific certifications (MIG, TIG, Stick) that directly determine which jobs a welder qualifies for. Use the tools below to explore Welding-related job titles sorted by growth rate, salary, or required education. You can start with entry points like Welder Helper, or look ahead to advanced roles such as Certified Welding Inspector or Welding Supervisor. Along the way, you will see specific certifications, such as AWS (American Welding Society) Certification, that can help you move up the career ladder.
Here is a short Helper Video 
This page will take you through 4 steps to (1) Select from Welding careers/jobs, (2) Find Welding job listings, (3) Prepare for Welding careers, and (4) Provide Welding career-specific resources.
Step 1: Select a Career/Job: This page starts with 4 ways for you to identify and select from listings of Welding careers/jobs:
A) Fastest Growing Welding Careers - 2023 to 2033 (est.)
These listings are based on job growth estimates and helps you to identify the fastest growing and evolving Welding careers. Some careers may not initially seem related to Welding, so relevant Welding jobs are listed alongside each listing. This can also help us to identify which careers (bottom of the listing) may have negative growth - perhaps due to automation or planned obsolescence.
B) Median Annual Salary U.S. Welding Careers
These listings are sorted (descending) by median annual salary in the U.S. This may help us to identify our ideal career. We may not qualify at this time for the desired career, but this listing and the results provided can help us to explore job details, as well as learn how to appropriately prepare for the career.
C) Welding Career Ladders (Educational Requirements)
These listings will help us to identify Welding careers sorted by educational requirements (with the most difficult to obtain listed first). This may help us to identify career ladders (as we scroll down the list), and help us to get jobs that we qualify for now.
D) Select From a Listing of 124 Welding Jobs.
The list may be quite long. There are two ways you might like to use this list:
1) Filter - As you enter a word, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles
2) Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
Once you have identified a job title of interest, simply click on it.
Step 2: Find a Job: After you have selected a career/job title above, you will see a form asking for your location. You will see several radio selection choices to utilize the job search site of your choice.
Step 3: Prepare For a Career: In this section you will gain access to detailed information to help you prepare for the chosen career. Information may include (not every career choice includes all of the elements below - updates occur quarterly):
Core Duties: Lists the primary worker-related tasks performed in this occupation
Supplemental Duties: Lists additional tasks that are performed but are secondary to the core duties
Work Activities: Summarizes the broad types of behaviors and actions related to this career
Specific Work Activities: Provides more granular day-to-day activities tied to the work performed
Essential Skills: Provides foundational skills that are core to performing this specific occupation
Transferable Skills: Provides career-portable skills that can be applied across multiple occupations and industries
Day-in-the-Life Summaries: Provides a snapshot of the key activities performed on a typical workday in this career
Knowledge Required: Provides the requirements regarding the acquisition of facts and principles
Software Skills: Lists software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized by category and priority
Preparation Required: Provides a summary of the required experience and education
Education Required: Detailed breakdown of the education required
Training and Experience Required: Detailed breakdown of the training and Training and Experience Required
Local Salary Information: Provides national and local salary ranges
Certifications: Provides appropriate government and private-sector certifications and/or credentials that may be required
Professional Associations: Provides professional associations that are related to the career selected
Job Listings: Provides links to active current job listings for the selected career, along with multiple similar job titles to explore. All information appears on this page without navigating away.
Related Careers to Consider: Lists up to 20 careers that might be of interest to you (related to your initial choice - what they do, what they know, and what they're called), ranked by best fit.
** If you clicked on a link from section D (as described in Step 1 above), you will see one or more links to an occupation that is usually a bit more general than your initial job selection - the link(s) is directly related to the specific job you identified through your prior selections.
*NOTE: It is possible that there may not be a career path identified for the specific job you selected in Step 1. If this is the case, scroll up the page and click on a different career/job.
Step 4: Career-Specific Resources (detailed and constantly updated): Continue to scroll down the page and you will find tabs that provide detailed (updated) links specific to the career you selected. This information includes:
Videos: Provides a listing of video links related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes: Sources for resume materials and techniques. This can help to get you started.
Job Description: Sources that provide job descriptions, which are vital to resume and interview preparation.
Interviews: Provides links that can help you to prepare for and successfully complete the job interview. Can also assist with coffee chats.
Step by Step: Provides links to resources that can help to organize the career search process.
LinkedIn: One of the best professional social media sites that provides links, opportunities, and networking specifically for careers and career development.
Step 1 of 4: Select a Career/Job
22 Welding careers are listed below (sorted by Percentage Change in Total Job Openings - 2023 to 2033 est.). Welding-related jobs specific to each career are also provided. This shows which careers are emerging and growing the fastest. Please Scroll and Select below:
| Occupations | U.S. Job Openings 2023-2033 (% change) | Welding-Related Jobs |
24 Welding careers are listed below (sorted by U.S. National Median Salary). Welding-related jobs specific to each occupation are also provided. Please Scroll and Select below::
| Occupations | National Median Salary | Welding-Related Jobs |
24 Welding careers are listed (sorted by Education/Preparation Requirements - descending) to provide career ladders. Welding-related jobs specific to each career are also provided.
|
Education/Preparation Categories: 5 = Usually requires graduate school (e.g., Master's degree, Ph.D., M.D., or J.D.) 4 = Usually requires a four-year Bachelor's degree 3 = Usually requires vocational training, related on-the-job experience, or Associate's degree 2 = Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, but not always Please Scroll and Select below: |
||
| Occupations | Education/Preparation | Welding-Related Jobs |
Scroll through the picklist (below). There are 124 specific Welding job titles listed. Select those that may be of interest - you will get active job listing links, along with detailed resources to help you prepare for a career related to that job.
You can use this form two ways:
Filter - As you enter a keyword, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles below
Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
OR - leave blank and scroll through the choices:
Select a Job Title (Scroll and Select) :
Step 2 of 4: Find a Job
Find Job Listings:
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters.
Step 3 of 4: Prepare For a Career
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Description: Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
Please click on a section below to expand and see detailed occupational information related to "Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters":
U.S. Total Employment (2023):
70,000U.S. Total Employment (2033 est.):
62,000
Employment Change (2023-2033 est.):
-8,000 (-11.4%) Average Annual Job Openings (2023-2033 est.):
5,900
Core Duties
Supplemental Duties
| Important Supplemental Job Duties (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Mark reference points onto floors or face blocks and transpose them to workpieces, using measuring devices, squares, chalk, and soapstone. |
| Importance: 60 (%) | Description: Direct welders to build up low spots or short pieces with weld. |
| Importance: 59 (%) | Description: Straighten warped or bent parts, using sledges, hand torches, straightening presses, or bulldozers. |
| Importance: 56 (%) | Description: Design and construct templates and fixtures, using hand tools. |
| Importance: 52 (%) | Description: Preheat workpieces to make them malleable, using hand torches or furnaces. |
| Importance: 44 (%) | Description: Heat-treat parts, using acetylene torches. |
| Importance: 42 (%) | Description: Erect ladders and scaffolding to fit together large assemblies. |
| Importance: 26 (%) | Description: Install boilers, containers, and other structures. |
Work Activities
| Important General Work Activities (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 83 (%) | Description: Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Importance: 82 (%) | Description: Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles). |
| Importance: 81 (%) | Description: Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. |
| Importance: 80 (%) | Description: Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. |
| Importance: 78 (%) | Description: Performing General Physical Activities: Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials. |
| Importance: 78 (%) | Description: Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Importance: 78 (%) | Description: Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Importance: 77 (%) | Description: Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Importance: 72 (%) | Description: Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. |
| Importance: 71 (%) | Description: Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. |
| Importance: 71 (%) | Description: Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Importance: 68 (%) | Description: Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment: Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used. |
| Importance: 67 (%) | Description: Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. |
| Importance: 66 (%) | Description: Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles. |
| Importance: 65 (%) | Description: Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Importance: 63 (%) | Description: Coaching and Developing Others: Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
| Importance: 61 (%) | Description: Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others: Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
Specific Work Activities
| Important Specific Work Activities
How can you begin to build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. Specific Work Activities appear below: |
|
| Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly. | |
| Assemble electromechanical or hydraulic systems. | |
| Assemble temporary equipment or structures. | |
| Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids. | |
| Design templates or patterns. | |
| Direct operational or production activities. | |
| Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references. | |
| Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production. | |
| Inspect metal, plastic, or composite products. | |
| Lay out parts to prepare for assembly. | |
| Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment. | |
| Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications. | |
| Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment. | |
| Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment. | |
| Operate cutting equipment. | |
| Operate grinding equipment. | |
| Operate welding equipment. | |
| Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. | |
| Reshape metal workpieces to established specifications. | |
| Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences. | |
| Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools. | |
| Smooth metal surfaces or edges. | |
Knowledge Required
| Knowledge Required (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 66 (%) | Description: Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| Importance: 65 (%) | Description: Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
| Importance: 65 (%) | Description: Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. |
| Importance: 60 (%) | Description: 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. |
Day-in-the-Life Summaries
| Day-in-the-Life Summaries These summaries show the main types of activities you are likely to perform on a regular basis in this occupation. How can you imagine your typical workday — using these examples to see if this type of work fits you? |
| Activity: Assemble equipment or components. |
| Activity: Assemble products or work aids. |
| Activity: Build structures. |
| Activity: Design materials or devices. |
| Activity: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures. |
| Activity: Inspect completed work or finished products. |
| Activity: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques. |
| Activity: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment. |
| Activity: Operate cutting or grinding equipment. |
| Activity: Operate lifting or moving equipment. |
| Activity: Position materials or components for assembly. |
| Activity: Position workpieces or materials on equipment. |
| Activity: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use. |
| Activity: Read documents or materials to inform work processes. |
| Activity: Shape materials to create products. |
| Activity: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment. |
Software Skills
|
Software Skills These are examples of software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized from most to least important for your career preparation. How can you start learning or practicing the highest-priority tools so that you feel confident using them on the job? |
| High-Priority Tech Skills |
| Electronic mail software: |
| Microsoft Outlook |
| Emerging Tech Skills |
| Office suite software: |
| Microsoft Office software |
| Spreadsheet software: |
| Microsoft Excel |
| Word processing software: |
| Microsoft Word |
| General Software Tools |
| Computer aided design CAD software: |
| Computer aided design and drafting CADD software Dassault Systemes CATIA Tekla software Three-dimensional modeling software |
Preparation Required
| Preparation Required - How much preparation is needed to obtain this type of job? |
| Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed |
| Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training. |
| Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training. |
| These occupations involve following instructions and often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include dishwashers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, counter and rental clerks, dental laboratory technicians, and security guards. |
Education Required
| Education Required - by frequency of educational attainment This shows you details about the level of education most commonly held by workers in this occupation. How can you begin planning the educational pathway that will prepare you best for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Education |
| Frequency of Attainment: 76.7 (%) | Level of Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 18.0 (%) | Level of Education: Less than a High School Diploma |
| Frequency of Attainment: 3.0 (%) | Level of Education: Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 2.3 (%) | Level of Education: Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) |
Training and Experience Required
| Training and Experience Required - by frequency of training and work experience attainment This section shows you how often different types of training and work experience are required for this occupation. How can you start gaining the kinds of experience and training that are most common for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience |
| Frequency of Attainment: 42.5 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: None |
| Frequency of Attainment: 19.8 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 13.9 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 12.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year |
| Frequency of Attainment: 6.8 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months |
| Frequency of Attainment: 4.1 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Up to and including 1 month |
| Frequency of Attainment: 0.6 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years |
Local Salary Information
Select a State (scroll and Select) :
Please select a State to see State and National Salaries
Professional Associations
| Professional Associations These associations connect people who work in this occupation or related fields. How can you start using these associations to learn more, build your network, or find mentoring opportunities? |
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Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA)
| |
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Precision Metalforming Association (PMA)
| |
Job Listings
| Job Listings and Similar Occupational Titles - scroll and click to identify common requirements, keywords, and skills in current job listings |
Related Careers to Consider
Step 4 of 4: Career-Specific Resources
This section contains detailed external resources appropriate to "Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters". Explore these resources to start learning more. Links are constantly updated, so bookmark this page.
Videos
Here is a listing of videos related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes
Here are resources that allow you to see example resumes for this occupation. It may be helpful to see examples from others who have this type of experience.
Job Description
Here are resources that provide job descriptions, which are vital for resume and interview preparation.
Interviews
There are many great resources that can help guide you through the interview process. These links provide help in preparing and performing an effective interview, specific to this occupation.
Step-by-Step
Here are links to help guide you, step-by-step, to become a(n): Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
LinkedIn®
Here are links to various posts and groups from LinkedIn ® that relate to this occupation. Great way to start building professional contacts in the field that might be most appropriate for you.
Developed by Dr. Ralph Jagodka, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus of Business Management at Mt. San Antonio College and author of the Harvard Business Impact article "What to Do When Students Ask You for Career Advice." - Full bio. © 2026 About This Page
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