Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Also called Brazer, Solderer, Welder, or Wirer
What Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers do
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.
Who tends to enjoy it
Hands-on
People who like building, fixing, working with tools, machines, plants, or animals.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
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.
- 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.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Quality Control Analysis
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
What you'll need to know
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Design
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Welding Technology / Welder 946 colleges
- Welding Engineering Technology / Technician 33 colleges
Related careers
Production
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.
Little to some preparation
Production
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
Little to some preparation
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.
Medium preparation
Production
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend heating equipment, such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, anneal, or heat treat metal or plastic objects.
Little to some preparation
Production
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Set up, operate, or tend lathe and turning machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock.
Little to some preparation
Production
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
Little to some preparation
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 51-4121.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.