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Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

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.
Related: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers  Boilermakers  Engine & Other Machine Assemblers  Structural Metal Fabricators & Fitters  Welding, Soldering, & Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders 
Industries: Manufacturing  Construction 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
    • Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
    • Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
    • Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.
    • Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
    • Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.
    • Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
    • Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
    • Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.
    • Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
    • Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.
    • Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.
    • Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.
    • Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.
    • Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.
    • Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.
    • Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
    • Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.
    • Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
    • Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
    • 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.
    • Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
    • Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work.
    • Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces.
    • Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.
    • Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.
    • Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.
    • Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material.
    • Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
    • Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.
    • Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
    • Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.
    • Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears.
    • Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
    • Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.
    • Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
    • Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.
    • Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
    • Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.

    Skills

    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    Knowledge

    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    61730/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    29.68/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    8,730
    Yearly Projected Openings
    910

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Initiative
    • Self Control
    • Integrity

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Alternating current AC arc welder
    • Anvils
    • Bench vises
    • Blow torch
    • Calipers
    • Cutting die
    • Deburring tool
    • Desktop computers
    • Direct current DC arc welder
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Electrode holder
    • Flame cutting machine
    • Flow sensors
    • Forklifts
    • Frequency converters
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Goggles
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hand clamps
    • Hoists
    • Hydraulic press brake
    • Hydraulic press frames
    • Impact wrenches
    • Induction heaters
    • Jacks
    • Ladders
    • Laser printers
    • Laser welding machine
    • Levels
    • Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
    • Manlift or personnel lift
    • Manual press brake
    • Metal band sawing machine
    • Metal inert gas welding machine
    • Metal slitting saw
    • Metal stamps
    • Microcontrollers
    • Micrometers
    • Mill saw file
    • Milling machines
    • Nibblers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Plasma arc welding machine
    • Pneumatic drill
    • Pneumatic hammer
    • Pneumatic sanding machines
    • Positioning jig
    • Potentiometers
    • Power buffers
    • Power chippers
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power saws
    • Pressure or steam cleaners
    • Protective gloves
    • Protractors
    • Pry bars
    • Pullers
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Pyrometers
    • Ratchets
    • Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
    • Respirators
    • Rulers
    • Safety glasses
    • Scaffolding
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scribers
    • Shears
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Socket sets
    • Soldering iron
    • Speed sensors
    • Spot welding machine
    • Squares
    • Straight edges
    • Tape measures
    • Taps
    • Temperature gauge
    • Templates
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Threading machine
    • Threading taps
    • Tinners snips
    • Tongs
    • Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
    • Track cranes
    • Tube bending machine
    • Tungsten inert gas welding machine
    • Two way radios
    • Ultrasonic welding machine
    • Utility knives
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Welder torch
    • Welding electrode
    • Welding generator
    • Welding masks
    • Welding or cutting tip
    • Welding robots
    • Welding wire
    • Wetsuits
    • Winches
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire cutters
    • Workshop cranes

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Spreadsheet software

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