How To Become An Auto Welder: What It Is and Career Path

What is an auto welder and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an auto welder. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.12 an hour? That's $39,760 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAuto WelderUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,760

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.46%

Asian 2.88%

Black or African American 9.46%

Hispanic or Latino 16.84%

Unknown 3.85%

White 65.50%

Gender

female 34.17%

male 65.83%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an auto welder

Explore auto welder education requirements

Most common auto welder degrees

High School Diploma

46.9 %

Associate

28.1 %

Certificate

12.5 %

Start to develop specific auto welder skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	43.34%
MIG	29.51%
Arc Welding	11.79%
TIG	6.36%
RAN	5.13%

Complete relevant auto welder training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New auto welders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an auto welder based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real auto welder resumes.

Research auto welder duties and responsibilities

Perform MIG and stick welds and erecting structural steel utilize for building skeletons including specific/ detail measurements for accuracy.
Perform preventive maintenance, electronic robotic operation, pneumatic system operation, and initial quality control.

Prepare your auto welder resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your auto welder resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an auto welder resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable auto welder resume templates

Build a professional auto welder resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your auto welder resume.