Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$47,920

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$40,560 – $57,390

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

31,600

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-8.9%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

2,500

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.

Main tasks

• Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
• Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.
• Record operational information on specified production reports.
• Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.
• Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.
• Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.
• Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.
• Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

  $53,750 median · +2.4% projected

• Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  $52,800 median · -13.2% projected

• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters

  $51,330 median · -6.2% projected

• Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  $50,620 median · -11.3% projected

• Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

  $65,380 median · -5.6% projected

• Industrial Machinery Mechanics

  $64,520 median · +17.8% projected