Welder
👨🏭Joins metal: pipelines, ships, bridges, steel structures. Stick, MIG and TIG welding: the weld must hold pressure for years.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $55.8k a year on average
Welding, soldering, & brazing workers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £35.4k median a year · 34,000 jobs
Welding trades — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
Robots weld on assembly lines, but site welding on pipelines, inside ships and in awkward spots stays manual, and good welders are in short supply.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, ⚙️ Tech and engineering, 🏗️ Building and spaces.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Apprenticeship Welding apprenticeship (UK Level 2/3); Konstruktionsmechaniker/in (Ausbildung, DE)
- Vocational Welding certificate at a community college (US)
- Course Coded welder tests to ISO 9606 / ASME IX; AWS certification (US)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Maths, Physics.
🧗 Apprenticeship or college for 1–3 years, then welder qualification tests (ISO 9606 in Europe, AWS/ASME in the US) for each process. Pipelines, offshore and underwater welding pay the most.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells⚠️ Real danger to life🧗 Working at heights
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