Welders play a crucial role in today’s world. Their primary job is to fuse metal pieces through intense heat and pressure to create structures or mend damage within metal parts. They use heavy machinery to generate the necessary heat to mold the metal. Welding is a physical trade, but it offers dynamic work with projects varying in scope and location, ensuring no two days are alike.
Welders can work indoors and outdoors, in confined spaces or expansive areas — even in the middle of the ocean. Industries such as manufacturing and construction, rely on the skills of welders to create durable metal joints. Individuals who want to pursue a welding career should learn more about what skills and knowledge are needed, and how a welding technology training program can help them achieve their career goals.
Which Industries Need Welders?
The expertise of welders allows them to handle projects of virtually any scale. Challenges may range from intricate work on small pipes, to the fabrication of large steel beams. Welding skills are in demand across various sectors. These include construction, industrial maintenance and repair, ship and boat building, aerospace, automotive industries, and specialized fields like underwater welding and energy infrastructure.
In addition to learning about where welders work and what they do, it is also important to understand the necessary skills of the trade.
Reading Blueprints
Before starting a project, welders must read and understand blueprints. This is to ensure their work meets design specifications and structural integrity requirements. These blueprints provide essential details on materials, welding methods, and safety measures. By following these plans, welders can solve problems, help projects go smoothly, and finish on time.
Selecting and Preparing Materials
Welders source and prepare materials according to project specifications. They use welding machines as their primary tool. The selection of materials and tools is critical for different welding processes. These include electrodes, pliers, welding magnets, and clamps. Shielding gasses help protect the weld area from atmospheric contaminants. Welders also select metals and safety gear to ensure quality welds and personal safety.
Joining Metals
Welders select the proper filler materials (rods, electrodes, wires) to join metals. They choose materials based on the metal type, thickness, and welding technique. This selection ensures the compatibility and performance of the weld. Understanding the metallurgical properties of base and filler materials helps the welder adjust techniques to avoid defects.
Checking Final Products
Inspecting finished work against blueprint specifications is essential for quality assurance and compliance with structural requirements. In addition to the final inspection, welders often use precision tools to check for imperfections throughout a project. This careful inspection process maximizes the safety and longevity of the structure. It also helps maintain project timelines and budgets by minimizing the need for repeated work.
Where Can Welders Work?
Welders and cutters work in varied environments, including outdoor areas, tight spaces, underwater, specialized facilities, and other locations. Typical workweeks are 40 hours. Welders may work for extended periods or overnight shifts in certain situations, such as when working on an oil rig or during intensive production periods.
Examples of where welders can work include the following.
Construction Sites
Welders in construction often operate outdoors, sometimes at significant heights. They are responsible for tasks like welding structural frameworks and installing metal components. They may also be involved in building HVAC systems. These systems may require refitting to meet the building’s design requirements.
Manufacturing Facilities
In manufacturing, welders are essential for producing a diverse array of goods. This includes vehicles and equipment for agriculture and mining, to name a few. They operate both manual and automated welding equipment, primarily in indoor settings. They may also work on repairing or upgrading machines critical in the manufacturing process.
Industrial Maintenance and Repair Facilities
Welders in industrial maintenance ensure machinery and equipment run smoothly. They perform regular repairs, and inspect and fix industrial systems to help minimize downtime. Welders can work on industrial systems like supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
Shipyards and Ships
Shipyard welders work on constructing, repairing, and maintaining different types of vessels, from military ships to cargo ships. Working in this environment may require them to travel and perform tasks in various ports.
Underwater
Underwater welders tackle one of the most demanding jobs. They repair deep-sea structures like oil rigs and pipelines. This role combines welding expertise with diving skills, facing unique challenges.
Aircraft and Aircraft Manufacturing Facilities
Welders in the aviation sector focus on the precision welding of aircraft frames and components. Their work is critical to ensuring the safety and reliability of aircraft.
Energy Infrastructure
Welders in the energy sector build and maintain infrastructure like pipelines and wind turbines. They work in diverse settings, including renewable energy sites.
Job Outlook for Welders
Government and industry projections point to a favorable employment outlook for welders. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts that there will be about 42,600 job openings each year for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers from 2022 to 2032, largely due to the need to replace individuals who are nearing retirement.
The American Welding Society reports that there were about 771,000 welding professionals working in the U.S. in 2024, estimating that about 330,000 welding-related roles will need to be filled from 2024 through 2028.
Set Your Path Toward A Career In Welding
If you want to learn more about where welders work and how to become a welder, you would do well to explore the Fortis Welding Technology training program. It provides the essential skills and knowledge for various welding career paths. The program offers hands-on experience, safety training, and certification preparation, helping graduates enter the welding workforce and pursue different career interests and goals.
Learn more about the programs offered at the Fortis skilled trades schools.
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