Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Also called: Acetylene Burner, Acetylene Cutter, Acetylene Operator, Acetylene Torch Burner, Acetylene Torch Operator, Acetylene Torch Solderer, Aluminum Welder, Arc Cutter
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 welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers do
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.
- Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
- Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.
- Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.
- Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers salary
The median annual wage for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is $53,750 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $39,240 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $77,530. The mean annual wage is $56,760.
The mean hourly wage of $27.00 is 3.7× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $53,750 → in 3 years $58,800 → in 5 years $62,500 → in 10 years $72,600 (10-year range $62,400–$84,300). The model assumes pay growth of +3.0% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers United States | 溶接工 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $53,750 | ¥4.55M ≈ $28,917 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $72,600 | ¥5.82M |
| Outlook score | 50 | 50 |
| AI replacement risk | 33% Low | 39% Low |
| Workers | 416K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.