What does a combination welder do?
Combination welders are the ones who prepare the welding materials to weld together metal components and maintain their equipment, such as a welding torch, grinder, or thermal cutters. They should know the various processes like oxy-fuel welding, arc welding, etc., to weld various metal components. Before starting their torches, they position the metals to stay in place using clamps. These welders work to fabricate or repair cracks, holes or increase the size of metal products like machine parts, plant equipment, automobiles, etc.
Combination welder responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real combination welder resumes:
- Fitter-Qualify in SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, as per AWS D1.1.
- Repair wrecked tank cars using plasma, torches, welders, and air arc.
- Fabricate numerous shop projects using all processes in variety of positions on carbon, aluminum, and stainless.
- Assist lead welder in various welding, brazing, grinding, thermal, gouging, and arc cutting operations.
- Can position pieces to weld into jigs, holding fixtures, guides and steps using measuring instruments and hand tools.
- Assemble or secure pipes, tubes, fittings, specifications, by welding, brazing, soldering, or threading joints.
- Position and clamp together components of fabricate metal products.
- Inspect all equipment daily and properly use PPE for the tasks at hand.
- Adhere to company, OSHA and USGC requirements with regard to PPE and safety regulations.
- Perform and supervise maintenance at refinery including instrumentation repair and millwright duties.
Combination welder skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Combination Welders are proficient in Arc Welding, Tack, and Minor Maintenance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Manual dexterity, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Combination Welders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Arc Welding, 14%
Welded metal parts together, using both gas welding and brazing, or any combination of ARC welding processes.
- Tack, 10%
Tack weld, measure and aligned all pieces and proceed to finish my weld.
- Minor Maintenance, 7%
Build, install, move, rearrange and perform major/minor maintenance repair on all types of machine tool equipment.
- MIG, 6%
Trained a co-worker how to MIG weld until he successfully passed level 1 entry weld test.
- Gmaw Welding, 5%
Conduct GTAW, FCAW, SAW and GMAW welding processes on a daily basis.
- Engineering Drawings, 4%
Analyze schematics, engineering drawings and specifications to plan layout, assembly and welding operations for pipeline fittings.
Most combination welders use their skills in "arc welding," "tack," and "minor maintenance" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential combination welder responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a combination welder to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what combination welders do because "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers perform precision work, often with straight edges." Additionally, a combination welder resume shows how combination welders use detail oriented: "job details: welding on pipe; stainless steel and carbon steel. "
Manual dexterity. Many combination welder duties rely on manual dexterity. "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers must have a steady hand to hold a torch in place," so a combination welder will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways combination welder responsibilities rely on manual dexterity: "operate manual welding equipment to fuse together various metals using weld processes such as gtaw and fcaw. "
Physical strength. combination welders are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to combination welder responsibilities, because "welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers must be able to lift heavy pieces of metal and move welding or cutting equipment." A combination welder resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "hardfaced, sub arc welding, fluxcore welding shoes to develop high strength for winter plow trucks. "
The three companies that hire the most combination welders are:
- MDU Resources2 combination welders jobs
- Vectrus2 combination welders jobs
- Zachry Construction2 combination welders jobs
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Compare different combination welders
Combination welder vs. Ship fitter
Ship fitters are civilian or enlisted people who work on materials like high yield strength steel and high-tensile steel. These people fabricate, assemble, and build structural parts of ships. They are the ones who coordinate a fixed tank working on ships and submarines, as well as the sonar dome work. They serve as part of a team composing shipbuilders. It is their duty to lead and assist in welding copper, PVC, flange piping, and steel. They should also refurbish the older rigs with advanced technologies.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a combination welder are more likely to require skills like "tack," "minor maintenance," "gas welding," and "overhead positions." On the other hand, a job as a ship fitter requires skills like "hand tools," "tack-weld," "math," and "tack welding." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Ship fitters really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $54,661. Comparatively, combination welders tend to make the most money in the construction industry with an average salary of $52,016.ship fitters tend to reach similar levels of education than combination welders. In fact, ship fitters are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Combination welder vs. Welder-machine operator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real combination welder resumes. While combination welder responsibilities can utilize skills like "minor maintenance," "mig," "gmaw welding," and "engineering drawings," welder-machine operators use skills like "stainless steel," "cnc," "tape measure," and "overhead cranes."
Welder-machine operators earn a lower average salary than combination welders. But welder-machine operators earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $54,740. Additionally, combination welders earn the highest salaries in the construction with average pay of $52,016 annually.welder-machine operators earn similar levels of education than combination welders in general. They're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Combination welder vs. Welder first class
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a combination welder is likely to be skilled in "minor maintenance," "mig," "gmaw welding," and "preheat," while a typical welder first class is skilled in "stainless steel," "aluminum mig," "air tools," and "fillet."
Welders first class typically earn similar educational levels compared to combination welders. Specifically, they're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Combination welder vs. Welder-assembler
Types of combination welder
Updated January 8, 2025
