Welder job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$53,750

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (O*NET-SOC 51-4121.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits. importance 4.6 of 5
2. Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications. importance 4.3 of 5
3. Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions. importance 4.2 of 5
4. Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors. importance 4.1 of 5
5. 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. importance 4.1 of 5
6. Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals. importance 4.1 of 5
7. Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required. importance 4.1 of 5
8. Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques. importance 4.1 of 5
9. Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter. importance 4.1 of 5
10. Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises. importance 4.0 of 5
11. Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained. importance 4.0 of 5
12. Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools. importance 4.0 of 5
13. Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment. importance 4.0 of 5
14. Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material. importance 3.9 of 5
15. Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools. importance 3.9 of 5
16. Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Handling and Moving Objects and Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.
• Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
• Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
• Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.
• Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.
• Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.

Knowledge areas: Production and Processing and Mechanical.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Windows, Oracle Database, EZ Pipe. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a welder.

Most welders surveyed by O*NET (54%) name a high school diploma or equivalent as the education the job requires.

Job title: Welder
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Welder to 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.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will 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.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in quality control analysis, monitoring and judgment and decision making
- Working knowledge of Production and Processing and Mechanical
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $53,750 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $25.84. BLS estimates about 416,210 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 40,300 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full welder salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real welder posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only welder work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (quality control analysis and monitoring); welder interview questions turns them into practice questions.