Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
SOC Code: 51-4121
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers carries a 29% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $51,000 and +2.2% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 457,300 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 29% AI exposure, Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers sits 8 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 26% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
52/100
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
Transparent derived index from BLS and O*NET data, not an official government rating. A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes. See the exact dimensions, weights, and formula.
- Median wage D $51,000
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth D +2.2%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 29% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
29% Lower than most lower than 74% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-4121) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Registered Apprenticeship Pathway Available
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is a recognized registered apprenticeship occupation under the DOL RAPIDS system. Earn while you train, apprentices typically start at ~$16/hr and reach $28–$46/hr upon completion, depending on the specific trade and region.
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- 2. Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
- 3. Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- 4. Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.
- 5. Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- 6. 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.
- 7. Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
- 8. Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.
- 9. Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
- 10. Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
Key Skills Required
- Quality Control Analysis
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers has an AI exposure score of 29%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is projected to grow by 2.2% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 457,300 workers.
What skills are needed for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
Key skills for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers include Quality Control Analysis, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn?
The median annual wage for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is $51,000, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
The typical entry-level education for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers?
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (29% here).
- Biochemists and biophysicists · AI exposure 29%
- Construction managers · AI exposure 29%
- Crane and tower operators · AI exposure 29%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay · AI exposure 29%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+2.2% here).
- Chemistry teachers, postsecondary · growth +2.2%
- Law teachers, postsecondary · growth +2.2%
- Slaughterers and meat packers · growth +2.2%
- Stationary engineers and boiler operators · growth +2.2%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
Put this score to use
Use Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- The workforce comparison tool weighs Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Before treating the AI exposure score above as a verdict, see how it is actually calculated. Reading AI exposure scores
- The full nationwide ranking of lowest-automation-exposure occupations is worth a look. Safest occupations from AI
These AI exposure scores estimate automatability from O*NET data (not a certainty of job loss), and BLS growth figures remain estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).