Body welder vs lead welder

The differences between body welders and lead welders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a body welder and a lead welder. Additionally, a lead welder has an average salary of $45,718, which is higher than the $32,146 average annual salary of a body welder.

The top three skills for a body welder include assembly line, toyota and quality inspection. The most important skills for a lead welder are aluminum, stainless steel, and safety equipment.

Body welder vs lead welder overview

	Body Welder	Lead Welder
Yearly salary	$32,146	$45,718
Hourly rate	$15.45	$21.98
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	11,289	8,274
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Body welder vs lead welder salary

Body welders and lead welders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Body Welder	Lead Welder
Average salary	$32,146	$45,718
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $41,000	Between $33,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between body welder and lead welder education

There are a few differences between a body welder and a lead welder in terms of educational background:

	Body Welder	Lead Welder
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 50%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Body welder vs lead welder demographics

Here are the differences between body welders' and lead welders' demographics:

	Body Welder	Lead Welder
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1%	Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 2.9% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between body welder and lead welder duties and responsibilities

Body welder example responsibilities.

Perform preventive maintenance, electronic robotic operation, pneumatic system operation, and initial quality control.
Recommend and implement cost reductive measures on the Tacoma front door and hood shell-body weld jig designs.
Use a power tugger to move parts to other departments.
Perform preventive maintenance, electronic robotic operation, pneumatic system operation, and initial quality control.

Lead welder example responsibilities.

Create weekly work schedules, process payroll information, manage inventory counts and job cost for each project.
Certify in restaurant grade stainless steel and aluminum TIG welding, carbon stick welding and stainless and carbon MIG welding.
Weld with solid wire (GMAW), flux core (FCAW) and stick (SMAW).
Used MIG and TIG welding to fit electrical and mechanical components.
Execute daily operations of MIG, and TIG welding, and rework welding.
Develop and record documentation for PQR's and WPS's.

Body welder vs lead welder skills

Common body welder skills

Assembly Line, 29%
Toyota, 20%
Quality Inspection, 17%
Quality Checks, 16%
Hand Tools, 10%
Jigs, 7%

Common lead welder skills

Aluminum, 7%
Stainless Steel, 7%
Safety Equipment, 6%
Blueprint Specifications, 5%
GMAW, 5%
Tig Welding, 5%